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 Supplies
Workplace 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 Duty
An 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 Duty
An 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)