Chapter 1

Background Information

Why Is First Aid Important?

• It is better to know first aid and not need it than to need first aid and not know it.

• First aiders do not diagnose.

Who Needs First Aid? (1 of 7)

• Intentional and unintentional injuries constitute a major threat to public health and are referred to as the neglected epidemic.

Who Needs First Aid? (2 of 7)

Who Needs First Aid? (3 of 7)

• Every year, one in four people experiences a nonfatal injury serious enough to need medical care or to restrict activity for at least one day.

• Sports-related nonfatal injuries are treated in hospital emergency departments more than any other type of unintentional injury.

Who Needs First Aid? (4 of 7)

• A delay of as little as 4 minutes when a person’s heart stops can mean death.

• Most injuries do not require lifesaving efforts.

Who Needs First Aid? (5 of 7)

Value to self:•Allows one to care for his or her injuries.•Allows one to direct others in proper care if they are too seriously injured.•Helps develop safety awareness and promote injury prevention.

Who Needs First Aid? (6 of 7)

Value to others: •Allows the trained person to offer proper assistance to family members, coworkers, acquaintances, and strangers.

Who Needs First Aid? (7 of 7)

Value in remote areas:Some settings demand that people be prepared to give first aid for an extended time: • Urban areas after a disaster• Remote occupations• Remote communities• Developing countries

Extra skills are sometimes required when delivering first aid in remote locations.

What Is First Aid? (1 of 3)

First aid…•is the immediate care given to a person who has been injured or is suddenly ill. •does not take the place of proper medical care.

What Is First Aid? (2 of 3)

First aid can mean…• life versus death.• rapid recovery versus long hospitalization.• temporary versus permanent disability.

What Is First Aid? (3 of 3)

• First aid includes treatments that people can give themselves.

• Recognizing a serious medical emergency and knowing how to get help could be crucial in saving a life.

First Aid Supplies• The supplies should

be customized to include items used on a regular basis.

• A home first aid kit:• Personal medications• A smaller number of

items than a workplace kit

First Aid SuppliesWorkplace Kit

First Aid and the Law

A first aider can be sued, but the risk can be minimized.

• Obtain the victim’s consent. • Follow the guidelines in Advanced First

Aid, CPR, and AED.• Do not exceed your training level.• Explain any first aid you are about to

give.• Once starting to care for a victim, stay

with that person.

Consent

Consent is permission that the victim must give before first aid can be given.

• It is unlawful to begin first aid without the victim’s consent.

• Touching another person without his or her consent is known as battery.

Expressed Consent

• Consent must be obtained from every alert, mentally competent person of legal age.

• A nod of the head or verbal indication is acceptable.

Implied Consent

• It is assumed or implied that an unresponsive victim would consent to lifesaving interventions.

• An alert victim who does not resist the administrations of a first aider is also assumed to have given implied consent.

Consent Children and Mentally Incompetent Adults (1 of 2)

• Consent must be obtained from the parent or legal guardian of a child or mentally incompetent victim.

• First aid should be given based on implied consent when a life-threatening situation exists and a parent or guardian is not present.

Consent Children and Mentally Incompetent Adults (2 of 2)

• A police officer is the only person with the authority to restrain and transport a person against that person’s will. • Only intervene when directed by a police

officer or when it is obvious that the victim is about to do something life-threatening.

Refusing Help

An alert and mentally competent adult can reject help. If this happens:•explain his or her condition to the victim, what you intend to do, and why it is necessary.•call 9-1-1.•try again to persuade the victim to accept care.•make sure you have witnesses of the victim’s refusal.•consider calling the police.

Abandonment

Once you have responded to an emergency, you must not leave a victim who needs continuing first aid until another competent and trained person takes responsibility for the victim.

Negligence

Failure to follow the accepted standards of care, resulting in further injury to the victim

Having a Duty to Act (1 of 3)

You do not have to help a stranger unless you have a legal obligation to that person, or you were involved in the events that led to the victim’s injuries.

Having a Duty to Act (2 of 3)

You have a duty to act if you…•are designated by your employer as the person responsible for providing first aid to meet Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements and are called to an injury scene.•are licensed by the state to give emergency care and your state requires you to act regardless of whether you are on or off duty.•have a preexisting relationship with the victim.

Having a Duty to Act (3 of 3)

• Different standards of care apply to different types of rescuers.

• Emergency care–related organizations and societies publish recommended first aid procedures.

Breaching That DutyAn Act of Omission

An act of omission is the failure to do what a reasonably prudent person with the same or similar training would do in the same or similar circumstances.

Breaching That DutyAn Act of Commission

An act of commission is doing something that a reasonably prudent person would not do under the same or similar circumstances.

Causing Injury and Damages

Can include: • Physical damage• Physical pain and suffering• Mental anguish• Medical expenses• Loss of earnings and earning capacity

Confidentiality

• Only discuss information about the victim with those who have a medical need to know.

• The law requires reporting rape, abuse, and gunshot wounds.

Good Samaritan Laws (1 of 3)

Encourage people to assist others in distress by granting them immunity against lawsuits.

Good Samaritan Laws (2 of 3)

Good Samaritan laws protect the rescuer:•acting during an emergency.•acting in good faith with good intentions.•acting without compensation.•not guilty of malicious misconduct or gross negligence toward the victim.

Good Samaritan Laws (3 of 3)

Good Samaritan laws do not:•protect first aiders who have caused further injury to a victim.•protect those who have poorly given first aid.•protect those who have exceeded the scope of training.

Injury Prevention (1 of 3)

• It is easier to prevent an injury than it is to treat one.

• Effective prevention uses a combination of the 3 Es.

Injury Prevention (2 of 3)

• Education interventions attempt to change behavior through information.

• Enforcement tries to reduce dangerous behaviors through the enforcement of laws and regulations.

• Engineering interventions require no work on the part of the individual.

Injury Prevention (3 of 3)

The Haddon Matrix (1 of 2)

Strategy for identifying interventions; can be applied to any type of illness or injury •Preevent phase: Interventions that attempt to stop or hinder•Event phase: Interventions that attempt to modify the consequences•Postevent phase: Focuses on returning the victim to the fullest of functioning

The Haddon Matrix (2 of 2)