911 callers with limited English proficiency (LEP) can make up a sizable portion of the overall 911 caller population, particularly in and around large cities where diverse ethnic and immigrant populations reside. 911 agencies have relied on both bilingual emergency dispatch staff as well as third-party translator services to assist with LEP callers.
Third-party translation services have the advantage of offering translation in many languages, which, in that respect, makes them more practical and more widely accessible for LEP 911 callers when compared with bilingual 911 dispatch staff who generally have proficiency in only one non-English language. However, these services have their limitations, particularly in respect to potential delays in obtaining a complete and confirmed address and connecting the caller and emergency dispatcher to a translator service where a three-way conversation can take place.
The Original Research article in this issue of AEDR explores barriers in confirming an address with Mandarin-speaking callers at several 911 agencies. It uses Conversational Analysis, a proven language analysis method, to find the critical interactions between caller and emergency dispatcher, helping to identify problem areas for possible improvements in calltaking for this cohort.
This issue also contains a Case Study that examines recent changes in the Police Priority Dispatch System™ (PPDS®) that reduce the frequency of high-priority police responses, and the potential positive impact it can have on police response times to time-critical calls.
Finally, we provide a Case Report on a cardiac arrest patient who received prone-CPR—compressions done on the spine—after the caller, the patient’s wife, couldn’t get the patient rolled onto his back. This call demonstrates the use of a relatively new set of Pre-Arrival Instructions (PAIs) in the Medical Priority Dispatch System™ (MPDS®).
As always, the AEDR editorial staff hopes these articles inform and inspire you to get involved in research in emergency dispatch and
response.
Sincerely,
Greg Scott
Editor-in-Chief