[Care dynamics of "Free & Open Air" Music Festivals in Rural Communities using the example of the Pol'and Rock Festival: an epidemiological, retrospective study 2017-2022].

Background: Knowledge of the epidemiology of illnesses at music festivals is limited. Music festivals challenge the medical staff and local communities providing healthcare services to the guests. Objective The aim of this study was to identify and compare reasons for medical treatment of visitors at festivals, PPTT (patients per ten thousand), TTRH (transport to hospital rates) and the time of day when treatment was carried out at one of the largest free-of-charge outdoor music festivals in Europe from 2017 to 2022. The goal was to identify the characteristics of such events.

Methods: The retrospective study used data from the medical documentation provided by the organizer of the "Pol'and Rock" festival in Poland. The correlations between PPTT, TTHR, visitor count, patient count, and time of day were examined. Important features in the organization of medical support were described.

Results: There had been 1.48 million visitors at the festival since 2017 to 2022, and 6,719 needed medical care. There were two peaks in patient count, one from 12-2 pm and another from 8-10 pm (p<0.0001). The median PPTH was 45, and the median TTRH was 0.0638.

Conclusion: There is no significant correlation between PPTT, TTRH, and the number of visitors during the study period at the events. The time of day has a significant impact on patient count. Long transportation distances from the festival grounds to the nearest hospital make it important to provide on-site high-quality care. Further investigations on the epidemiology of music festivals are necessary.