I have focused on diving deeper into the two topics of first aid and chronic diseases, maintaining diverging research. I assume gaining an understanding will set the right basis for the converging research process ahead.
Depending on the context, people who provide first aid or people who have been trained to do so are referred to as first aiders.
First aid measures
So far I identified the following areas of first aid measures (as considered in the DACH area):
Life-saving immediate measures
- Stable lateral position
- Airway management
- Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
- Automated external defibrillator
- Shock storage
Acute diseases
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Poisoning, chemical burns
- Asthma and hyperventilation
- Abdominal pain, birth
- Hypoglycemia
- Sunstroke, heat stroke, heat exhaustion
- Frostbite and hypothermia
Medication
- Medication knowledge
- Painkillers
- Nitroglycerin and Acetylsalicylic acid for heart attacks
- Epinephrine (adrenaline) in allergic emergencies
Injuries and wound care
- Injury to the spine, cervical splint grip, cervical collar
- Compression bandage
- RICE / PECH-Regel
- Bone fracture, strain and contusion with fixations and immobilizations
- Burn injury and scalding
- Eye injury, ear injury, nosebleed
- Desinfection
- Wound dressings for various purposes: covering, hemostasis, wound healing, fixation
More
- Emergency numbers
- Securing the accident site
- Salvage, rescue from danger zone, carrying handles
- Water rescue
- Action schemes such as ABCDE scheme
- Psychological first aid (conversation)
- Rescue chain
- Triage
- Operational management
Since the term of first responder is not defined precisely, I will need to find out which measures are suitable for individuals without prior experience. If this group of people manages to provide first aid to a certain extent, it is more likely more experienced or educated people will encounter fewer challenges. This might also give a sense of how to prioritize first aid measures which are more crucial or necessary for education and execution.
Potential topics
So far I discovered the following to be potential topics considered with first aid, as they contain events that occur suddenly:
- Epilepsy
- Multiple sclerosis (MS)
- Stroke
- Diabetes
- Cardiac arrhythmia
Besides this broad consideration my primary interest lies in measures of suddenly appearing disease events with no specific aid tools required and that can basically be executed by everyone. Specific first aid procedures could be a topic to dive in when starting the first converging research phase.
Resources
- Wikipedia: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erste_Hilfe
- John Hopkins Medicine: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/epilepsy/types-of-seizures
- Bundesministerium für Soziales, Gesundheit, Pflege und Konsumentenschutz: https://www.gesundheit.gv.at/krankheiten/gehirn-nerven/multiple-sklerose/ms-symptome.html
- Bundesministerium für Soziales, Gesundheit, Pflege und Konsumentenschutz: https://www.gesundheit.gv.at/krankheiten/gehirn-nerven/schlaganfall/symptome.html
- Healthline Media: https://www.healthline.com/health/arrhythmia
