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 aid providers do not diagnose.
 Who Needs First Aid?
• Intentional and unintentional injuries
constitute a major threat to public health
and are referred to as the neglected
epidemic.
Who Needs First Aid?

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 Who Needs First Aid?
• 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?
• Death occurs when a person’s heart stops.
− What a bystander does can mean the
difference between life and death.
• Most injuries do not require lifesaving
efforts.
 Value of First Aid to Self
• Enables a person to care for his or her
injuries
• Allows a person to direct others in proper
care if they are too seriously injured
• Helps develop safety awareness and
promote injury prevention
 Value of First Aid to Others
• Allows the trained person to offer proper
assistance to:
– Family members
– Coworkers
– Acquaintances
– Strangers
 Value of First Aid 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
 What Is First Aid?
• Helping behaviors and initial care provided
for an acute illness or injury.
• Does not take the place of proper medical
care.
 What Is First Aid?
• Goals of the first aid provider include:
− Preserving life
− Alleviating suffering
− Preventing further illness or injury
− Promoting recovery
 What Is First Aid?
• First aid competencies
− Recognizing, assessing, and prioritizing the
need for first aid
− Providing care by using appropriate
knowledge, skills, and behaviors
− Recognizing limitations and seeking additional
care when needed
 First Aid and the Law
• A first aid provider can be sued, but the
risk can be minimized.
− Obtain the person’s consent.
− Do not exceed your training level.
− Explain any first aid you are about to give.
− Once starting to care for an injured or ill
person, stay with that person.
 Consent
• Permission that the injured or ill person
must give before first aid can be given
− It is unlawful to begin first aid without the
person’s consent.
− Touching another person without his or her
consent is known as battery.
 Informed (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 person would consent to
lifesaving interventions.
• An alert person who does not resist the
administrations of a first aid provider is
also assumed to have given implied
consent.
 Consent: Children and Mentally
Incompetent Adults
• Consent must be obtained from the parent
or legal guardian of a child or mentally
incompetent adult.
• 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
• 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 person is
about to do something life-threatening.
 Refusing Help

• If an alert and mentally competent adult

refuses help:
− Explain his or her condition to the person,
what you intend to do, and why.
− Call 9-1-1.
− Try to persuade the person to accept care.
− Make sure you have witnesses of the refusal.
− Consider calling the police.
 Abandonment
• Once you have responded to an
emergency, you must not leave an injured
or ill person who needs continuing first aid
until another competent and trained
person takes responsibility for the person.
 Negligence
• Failure to follow the accepted standards of
care, resulting in further injury to the
person
 Duty to Act
• You have a duty to act if you are:
− Designated by your employer and called to an
injury scene.
− Licensed by the state and your state requires
you to act regardless of whether you are on or
off duty.
− Have a preexisting relationship with the
person.
 Duty to Act
• Different standards of care apply to
different types of first aid providers.
• Emergency care–related organizations
and societies publish recommended first
aid procedures.
 Breach of Duty
• An act of omission—failure to do what a
reasonably prudent person with the same
or similar training would do in the same or
similar circumstances.
 Breach of Duty
• An act of commission—doing something
that a reasonably prudent person would
not do under the same or similar
circumstances.
 Injury and Damages Inflicted
• Can include
− Physical damage
− Physical pain and suffering
− Mental anguish
− Medical expenses
− Loss of earnings and earning capacity
 Level of Training Restrictions
• Providers should not exceed their skill
level.
 Confidentiality
• Only discuss information about the injured
or ill person with those who have a
medical need to know.
• The law requires reporting rape, abuse,
and gunshot wounds.
 Good Samaritan Laws
• Encourage people to assist others
• Protect the rescuer when the rescuer is:
− Acting during an emergency
− Acting in good faith, having good intentions
− Acting without compensation
− Not guilty of malicious misconduct or gross
negligence toward the person
 Good Samaritan Laws
• Good Samaritan laws do not protect first
aid providers:
− Who have caused further injury to a person
− Who have given first aid poorly
− Who have exceeded the scope of training
 Injury Prevention
• It is easier to prevent an injury than it is to
treat one.
• Effective prevention uses the 3 Es.
− Education
− Enforcement
− Engineering
Injury Prevention

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 The Haddon Matrix
• Strategy for identifying interventions; can
be applied to any 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
person to the fullest of functioning
The Haddon Matrix

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