First Responders and Prehospital Care for Road Traffic Injuries in Malawi

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Chokotho ◽  
Wakisa Mulwafu ◽  
Isaac Singini ◽  
Yasin Njalale ◽  
Limbika Maliwichi-Senganimalunje ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Communication Systems ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Prehospital Care ◽  
First Responders ◽  
First Aid ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Key Informants ◽  
Road Traffic Injuries ◽  
First Response ◽  
First Aid Training

AbstractIntroductionRoad traffic collisions are a common cause of injuries and injury-related deaths in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Basic prehospital care can be the difference between life and death for injured drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.ProblemThis study examined the challenges associated with current first response practices in Malawi.MethodsIn April 2014, focus groups were conducted in two areas of Malawi: Karonga (in the Northern Region) and Blantyre (in the Southern Region; both are along the M1 highway), and a qualitative synthesis approach was used to identify themes. All governmental and nongovernmental first response organizations identified by key informants were contacted, and a checklist was used to identify the services they offer.ResultsAccess to professional prehospital care in Malawi is almost nonexistent, aside from a few city fire departments and private ambulance services. Rapid transportation to a hospital is usually the primary goal of roadside care because of limited first aid knowledge and a lack of access to basic safety equipment. The key informants recommended: expanding community-based first aid training; emphasizing umunthu (shared humanity) to inspire bystander involvement in roadside care; empowering local leaders to coordinate on-site responses; improving emergency communication systems; equipping traffic police with road safety gear; and expanding access to ambulance services.ConclusionPrehospital care in Malawi would be improved by the creation of a formal network of community leaders, police, commercial drivers, and other lay volunteers who are trained in basic first aid and are equipped to respond to crash sites to provide roadside care to trauma patients and prepare them for safe transport to hospitals.ChokothoL, MulwafuW, SinginiI, NjalaleY, Maliwichi-SenganimalunjeL, JacobsenKH. First responders and prehospital care for road traffic injuries in Malawi. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2017;32(1):14–19.

First-aid Training and Bystander Actions at Traffic Crashes — A Population Study

2002 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 134-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva M. Larsson ◽  
Niklas L. Mártensson ◽  
Kristina A.E. Alexanderson
Keyword(s):  
Road Traffic ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
First Aid ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Traffic Crashes ◽  
Traffic Crash ◽  
The Public ◽  
Lay Persons ◽  
First Aid Training ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIntroduction:Traffic crashes constitute a major, worldwide public-health problem that cause disabilities, life-long suffering, and huge economic losses. When a person is injured in a traffic crash, actions taken by bystanders often are of crucial importance. To perform first-aid actions in a correct manner, bystanders, often lay persons, need both the courage and the knowledge to do so. For preventive purposes, society spends large resources to inform and educate the public in order to enhance people's ability to take correct actions. However, there only is little information on the rate in a population of persons who have had first-aid training, have been bystanders at a traffic crash, on the actions taken by such persons, and on effects of first-aid training on patient care.Objective:The aim of this study was to acquire knowledge about: (1) the prevalence of first-aid training; (2) the incidence of being a bystander and of the first aid provided at traffic crashes and other emergencies; and (3) the impact of first-aid training on the risks people take in road traffic.Methods:A questionnaire was administered to 2,800 randomly selected persons aged 18–74 years.Results:The response rate was 67.5%. During the previous five years, 39% of the population had received first-aid training, with a higher rate among younger individuals and those with a higher education. After training, 30% of the respondents had used their skills, and 41% took fewer risks in traffic, particularly those who were older or had a lower level of education. Fourteen percent of those with training (significantly more men) had been bystanders at a traffic crash. At 20% of the crashes, a bystander had administered first aid, and one-third of those who provided such assistance had had use of their training. Conclusion: Intensified first-aid training of the general public could lead to citizens who are more cautious in traffic and to bystanders who provide more immediate and adequate first aid at traffic crashes and other emergencies.

scholarly journals (A100) Building Local Resilience and Competencies in Remote Haitian Communities

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S1) ◽  
pp. s27-s27
Author(s):  
R. Gore ◽  
C.M. Bloem ◽  
B. Arquilla ◽  
P. Roblin
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Students ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Life Support ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
First Responders ◽  
Training Model ◽  
First Aid ◽  
Medical Professionals ◽  
Premature Deaths ◽  
First Aid Training

Injury and trauma are major causes of premature deaths worldwide. At present, Haiti does not have an existing emergency medical system. Basic first responders training was developed for lay people and medical professionals in rural Haiti.MethodsThe training was conducted in Terrier Rouge, Haiti. Participants included medical professionals, laborers, health professionals, teachers, students, and truck drivers from six towns in northeastern Haiti. A three-day training course taught by U.S. board certified emergency medicine physicians was instituted. Basic life support (BLS), first aid, and BLS/first aid instructors courses were taught based on the American and Canadian Heart Associations curriculum. The BLS/first aid instructors course was limited to health professionals, whereas the first aid course was open to all members of the community. The program included the development of local teaching tools and manuals translated to local languages. Twelve newly trained local Haitian instructors assisted in the final day of training.ResultsThe course was well received by participants. A total of 54 people completed the BLS course, 67 completed the first aid course, and 12 participants completed the BLS/first aid instructors course. Ninty-five program participants completed the end of course survey. Forty-four of the participants were male, 49 were female, and 2 did not answer. Forty-one participants had no prior BLS/first aid training or exposure. The ages of participants ranged from 13 to 52 years. The course participants included two physicians, 22 students, eight nursing students, seven nurses, 20 teachers, 12 health workers, five drivers, and 14 laborers. Of those surveyed, 92 stated they would recommend this course to a friend. Eighty-eight participants stated that hands on learning helped them better learn the course material.ConclusionThis sustainable, locally controlled training model increased local skill level for basic first responders in rural Haiti.

scholarly journals Delivery of First Aid to Victims in Road Transportation Accidents

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 417-421
Author(s):  
A. V. Baranov
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Accidents ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Human Life ◽  
First Aid ◽  
The State ◽  
Road Traffic Accidents ◽  
Road Accidents ◽  
Road Transportation ◽  
Scientific Publications ◽  
Road Traffic Injuries

Relevance. Most of the victims of road accidents die prior to the arrival of medical staff, therefore, providing first aid to injured people in the first minutes after receiving injuries is very important for saving human life and health. Timely and skillful provision of first aid to victims of road accidents prevents further deterioration of the state of the human body and can positively affect the entire process of its further treatment and rehabilitation.Aim of study. To characterize the delivery of first aid to victims of road traffic accidents at the present stage and to outline possible ways for its improvement.Material and methods. To achieve this goal, an analysis was made of the results of domestic and foreign scientific research and regulatory legal acts on the issue of providing first aid to victims of road accidents. The literature search was carried out in specialized scientific search engines eLibrary, PubMed, Scopus using the keywords: first aid, prehospital stage, road traffic injuries, road traffic accidents. For the analysis, scientific articles published between 1980 and 2020 were selected. Resources with outdated or inaccurate information were excluded, some scientific papers were found by links to articles. The state of the problem of providing first aid to victims of road traffic injuries, for the most part, reflects scientific publications over the past ten years.

scholarly journals Impact of a Postcrash First Aid Educational Program on Knowledge, Perceived Skills Confidence, and Skills Utilization Among Traffic Police Officers: A Single-Arm Before-After Intervention Study

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Menti Lastone Ndile ◽  
Gift G. Lukumay ◽  
Karin Bolenius ◽  
Anne H. Outwater ◽  
Britt-Inger Saveman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Educational Program ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
First Responders ◽  
Knowledge Score ◽  
First Aid ◽  
Nonparametric Tests ◽  
Basic Knowledge ◽  
The Mean

Abstract Background An overwhelming proportion of road traffic deaths and injuries in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) occur in prehospital environments. Lay first responders such as police officers play an important role in providing initial assistance to victims of road traffic injuries either alone or in collaboration with others. The present study evaluated a postcrash first aid (PFA) educational program developed for police officers in Tanzania.Method A 16-hour PFA educational program was conducted in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, for 135 police officers. Participants completed training surveys before, immediately and six months after the training (before, N = 135; immediately after, N = 135; after six months, N = 102). The primary outcome measures were PFA knowledge, perceived skills confidence, and skills utilization. Parametric and nonparametric tests were used to analyse changes in outcome.Results The mean PFA knowledge score increased from 44.73% before training ( SD = 20.70) to 72.92% six months after training ( SD = 18.12), p ˂ .001, N = 102. The mean PFA perceived skills confidence score (measured on a 1–5 Likert scale) increased from 1.96 before training ( SD = 0.74) to 3.78 six months after training ( SD = 0.70), p ˂ .001, N = 102. Following training, application of the recovery position skill ( n = 42, 46%) and application of the bleeding control skill ( n = 45, 49%) were reported by nearly half of the responding officers. Less than a quarter of officers reported applying head and neck immobilization skills ( n = 20, 22%) following training.Conclusion A PFA educational program may be an effective means of imparting basic knowledge and skills for prehospital trauma care to lay first responders in contexts where resources are limited. Furthermore, the likelihood of applying such skills can be enhanced by the availability of the necessary resources.

scholarly journals The Lack of First Aid Skills as a Contributing Factor of High Road Traffic Fatality Rates in the Russian Federation

2020 ◽  
pp. 43-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
AV Popov ◽  
UM Kaimakova ◽  
NP Stetsky ◽  
IV Rebro ◽  
DA Mustafina
Keyword(s):  
Control Chart ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
First Aid ◽  
Stressful Situation ◽  
Driving Experience ◽  
Traffic Fatality ◽  
First Aid Training ◽  
Training Courses ◽  
The Russian Federation

Background: The Russian Federation is among the countries with the highest road traffic fatality rates in the WHO European Region. One of the main reasons for that is the personal attitude of traffic participants to safety that includes medical illiteracy and unpreparedness to render first aid to the injured. Our objective was to study failure to give quick and competent first aid as one of the possible causes of road traffic deaths in the Russian Federation and to identify potential ways of improving the situation. Materials and methods: In May-September 2018, in January and June 2019, we conducted a survey of 403 Russian citizens (284 men and 119 women) having a driver’s license and driving experience in different Russian regions including the Volgograd Region, the Krasnodar Krai, the Rostov Region, Moscow, etc. The respondents were asked to answer the questions about first aid training courses in driving schools, prior involvement in road traffic accidents, and first aid techniques. Results: Most of the respondents (63%) reported having had first aid training courses at driving schools given by driving instructors and almost a quarter of the respondents (23%) reported having never had such courses at all. Approximately 68% of the survey participants had no first aid training using dummies. About 17% witnessed traffic collisions and provided at least some level of first aid while almost 14% could not give any help due to the stressful situation or fear to do harm to the injured. We then calculated the number of correct and complete answers rated 1 and 2 points according to the estimation scale and drew a control chart of the average value. The analysis of the control chart showed that 331 of 403 participants (82%) passed our test. Conclusions: Although the results were not as bad as might have been expected, significant gaps in basic first aid knowledge did exist: some respondents failed to answer the questions correctly. Given that in addition to theoretical knowledge the person should be able to use this knowledge decisively and calmly, without panic and the fear of blood, the percentage of those who can really help is even lower. First aid training courses in driving schools shall be mandatory and must be given by medical professionals. Governmental regulatory authorities should pay special attention to this issue when licensing. At the same time, more emphasis should be placed on first aid training in educational institutions (kindergartens, schools, colleges, and universities). In addition, we recommend compulsory first aid training of professional drivers of commercial vehicles.

scholarly journals An educational pathway and teaching materials for first aid training of children in sub-Saharan Africa based on the best available evidence

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmy De Buck ◽  
Jorien Laermans ◽  
Anne-Catherine Vanhove ◽  
Kim Dockx ◽  
Philippe Vandekerckhove ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
First Aid ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Teaching Materials ◽  
First Aid Training ◽  
Sub Saharan

scholarly journals First Aid Practices for Injured Children in Rural Ghana: A Cluster-Random Population-Based Survey

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Adam Gyedu ◽  
Barclay Stewart ◽  
Easmon Otupiri ◽  
Peter Donkor ◽  
Charles Mock
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
Burn Injury ◽  
Prehospital Care ◽  
First Aid ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Care Seeking ◽  
Study Objective ◽  
First Aid Training ◽  
At Home

Abstract Introduction: The majority of injury deaths occur outside health facilities. However, many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) continue to lack efficient Emergency Medical Services (EMS). Understanding current first aid practices and perceptions among members of the community is vital to strengthening non-EMS, community-based prehospital care. Study Objective: This study sought to determine caregiver first aid practices and care-seeking behavior for common household child injuries in rural communities in Ghana to inform context-specific interventions to improve prehospital care in LMICs. Methods: A cluster-randomized, population-based household survey of caregivers of children under five years in a rural sub-district (Amakom) in Ghana was conducted. Caregivers were asked about their practices and care-seeking behaviors should children sustain injuries at home. Common injuries of interest were burns, laceration, choking, and fractures. Multiple responses were permitted and reported practices were categorized as: recommended, low-risk, or potentially harmful to the child. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between caregiver characteristics and first aid practices. Results: Three hundred and fifty-seven individuals were sampled, representing 5,634 caregivers in Amakom. Mean age was 33 years. Most (79%) were mothers to the children; 68% had only completed basic education. Most caregivers (64%-99%) would employ recommended first aid practices to manage common injuries, such as running cool water over a burn injury or tying a bleeding laceration with a piece of cloth. Nonetheless, seven percent to 56% would also employ practices which were potentially harmful to the child, such as attempting manual removal of a choking object or treating fractures at home without taking the child to a health facility. Reporting only recommended practices ranged from zero percent (burns) to 93% (choking). Reporting only potentially harmful practices ranged from zero percent (burns) to 20% (fractures). Univariate regression analysis did not reveal consistent associations between various caregiver characteristics and the employment of recommended only or potentially harmful only first aid practices. Conclusions: Caregivers in rural Ghanaian communities reported using some recommended first aid practices for common household injuries in children. However, they also employed many potentially harmful practices. This study highlights the need to increase context-appropriate, community-targeted first aid training programs for rural community populations of LMICs. This is important as the home-based care provided for injured children in these communities might be the only care they receive.

scholarly journals An educational pathway and teaching materials for first aid training of children in Sub-Saharan Africa based on the best available evidence

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmy De Buck ◽  
Jorien Laermans ◽  
Anne-Catherine Vanhove ◽  
Kim Dockx ◽  
Philippe Vandekerckhove ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Research Question ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
First Aid ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Teaching Materials ◽  
First Aid Training ◽  
African Context ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Expert Input

Abstract Background First aid training is a cost-effective way to decrease the burden of disease and injury in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Since evidence from Western countries has shown that children are able to learn first aid, first aid training of children in LMIC may be a promising way forward. Hence, our project aim was to develop contextualized materials to train Sub-Saharan African children in first aid, based on the best available evidence. Methods Systematic literature searches were conducted to identify studies on first aid education to children up to 18 years old (research question one), and studies investigating different teaching approaches (broader than first aid) in LMIC (research question two). A multidisciplinary expert panel translated the evidence to the context of Sub-Saharan Africa, and evidence and expert input were used to develop teaching materials. Results For question one, we identified 58 studies, measuring the effect of training children in resuscitation, first aid for skin wounds, poisoning etc. For question two, two systematic reviews were included from which we selected 36 studies, revealing the effectiveness of several pedagogical methods, such as problem-solving instruction and small-group instruction. However, the certainty of the evidence was low to very low. Hence expert input was necessary to formulate training objectives and age ranges based on “good practice” whenever the quantity or quality of the evidence was limited. The experts also placed the available evidence against the African context. Conclusions The above approach resulted in an educational pathway (i.e. a scheme with educational goals concerning first aid for different age groups), a list of recommended educational approaches, and first aid teaching materials for children, based on the best available evidence and adapted to the African context.

scholarly journals The level of readiness of the EMERCOM of Russia employees to provide first aid in road and transportation accidents

2020 ◽  
pp. 42-47
Author(s):  
I. S. Melnikova ◽  
E. V. Shkatova
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Accidents ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
First Aid ◽  
Practical Skills ◽  
Road Traffic Accidents ◽  
Road Accidents ◽  
Work Program ◽  
First Aid Training ◽  
Udmurt Republic ◽  
Regular Training

Relevance. Timely competent provision of first aid by fire-fighters and rescuers can minimize the complications of injuries related to road traffic accidents, thereby supporting the lives of victims until the arrival of an ambulance team. Effective first aid training of the Emercom employees is a prerequisite for reducing mortality from road accidents at the pre-hospital stage.Intention. To analyze preparedness for first aid provision in the Udmurt Republic (Izhevsk city) among the EMERCOM of Russia employees directly involved in the elimination of the consequences of road accidents.Methodology. 199 employees of the Emercom of Russia were surveyed in the Udmurt Republic (Izhevsk) to assess their preparedness for the first aid provision based on a specially developed questionnaire.Results and Discussion. When processing the questionnaire data, it was found that 46.7 % of the respondents consider their knowledge and skills to be sufficient for providing first aid to victims of road accidents, 53.3 % are not satisfied with their practical skills. Before the arrival of medical workers, first aid was always provided to the injured by 10.5 %, sometimes by 31.2 % of the respondents. When tested on first aid issues, on average, each employee gave (73.1 ± 1.1) % correct answers. Periodically, 45.2 % of the EMERCOM of Russia employees practiced their skills in first aid on dummies.Conclusion. The results of the study showed the need to improve the regular training on the first aid among EMERCOM of Russia employees: to use dummies and simulators more widely. The data obtained can be used in planning the interagency interaction of services involved in the elimination of the consequences of road accidents, developing a work program for extended first aid for EMERCOM of Russia employees.

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