Impact of the Population Pyramid on the Emergency Department

A country's population pyramid can affect the quality and demand for emergency departments (ED) in several ways. EDs may need specialized resources and equipment to meet the population's needs. In this research, we present an analysis of scenarios through agent-based modeling and simulatio...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Galeano Galeano, Ramona Elizabeth|||0009-0007-0272-1281, Wong, Álvaro|||0000-0002-8394-9478, Rexachs, Dolores|||0000-0001-5500-850X, Suppi, Remo|||0000-0002-0373-8292, Bruballa, Eva|||0000-0002-5094-3563, Epelde, Francisco|||0000-0001-5547-4025, Luque, Emilio|||0000-0002-2884-3232
Tipo de documento: artigo
Data de publicação:2025
País:España
Recursos:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositório:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglês
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:311309
Acesso em linha:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/311309
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.24215/16666038.25.e05
Access Level:Acceso aberto
Palavra-chave:Agent-based model
Emergency department
KPI
Population pyramid
Simulation
Modelo basado en agentes
Servicio de urgencias
Piramide poblacional
Simulación
Descrição
Resumo:A country's population pyramid can affect the quality and demand for emergency departments (ED) in several ways. EDs may need specialized resources and equipment to meet the population's needs. In this research, we present an analysis of scenarios through agent-based modeling and simulation. We analyzed the population pyramids of Spain, Argentina, and Paraguay to provide insight into how demographic structure impacts the length of stay (LoS) and the need for medical and nursing staff. This can help policymakers and health managers better plan health resources and services in each country. We verified the evolution of the parameters, length of stay (LoS), and the occupation of doctors and nurses depending on different scenarios, such as the age of the patients and the number of patients arriving, and how it can lead to saturation of the ED. Through several scenarios analyzed using simulations of the age pyramids of Spain, Argentina, and Paraguay, we conclude that the age pyramid of patients treated in ED affects the demand for services, the need for specialized care regarding human and material resources, and waiting time. Implementing measures to manage demand and optimize available resources is essential to ensure adequate patient care.