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MAY , 2023 | THE HEALTH
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crisis and disaster management , etc .) regularly ;
• Make first aid training a mandatory part of the curriculum wherein schools and tertiary institutions provide thorough first aid training to all staff ( teaching and administrative ) and students with refresher courses – rather than a complete training conducted annually – aimed at improving retention ;
• The Ministry of Health ( MoH ) to create an online interactive first aid learning platform as a website and an app – with numerous real-world and simulated scenarios ;
• The MoH to launch an awareness campaign blitz in collaboration with the relevant authorities such as the Ministry of Women , Family and Community Development ( MWFCD ), Ministry of Local Government Development ( KPKT ), Red Crescent Society , St John Ambulance , Fire and Rescue Department , Civil Defence Force ( MCDF ), etc . to create publicity materials such as posters and short videos on first aid .
The contents are to be circulated through social media , broadcasting ( TV & radio ), newspapers , public transport advertisements , signages , etc . In addition , the stakeholders should also organise numerous first-aid roadshows and workshops nationwide , especially among lower-income and deprived areas . These areas are more likely vulnerable to medical emergencies and have longer ambulance response times .
• Improve first aid training so that it resembles real-life situations more closely by : 1 . Training for handling multiple emergencies simultaneously such as bleeding and asphyxiation , rather than just focussing on a single situation like cardiac arrest only ;
2 . Promoting awareness of the “ bystander effect ”; and
3 . Addressing the fear of litigation by explaining the principles and provisions of the GSL ( post-implementation );
• According to the Ministry of Transport ( MoT ), 18 people on average die every day due to road accidents in Malaysia . As road accidents are only increasing , basic first aid training should be part of the process of obtaining a driver ’ s licence . – The Health
Jason Loh and Juhi Todi are part of the research team at EMIR Research , an independent think tank focused on strategic policy recommendations based on rigorous research .
First aid training |
FIRST AID training is essential to equip the general public with the necessary skillset needed to assess and react in a medical emergency . Research confirms that training improves one ’ s probability and |
willingness to perform first aid .
First aid training has been linked to increased confidence and decreased fear of hurting the recipient . In some cases , trained individuals are almost three times more likely to feel confident performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation ( CPR ) than non-trained individuals .
Bystander CPR administration in Arizona increased from 19.6 per cent in 2005 to 75.9 per cent in 2009 after a large-scale public hands-only CPR campaign . Similarly , it was found that exposure to an ultra-brief 60-second video on hands-only CPR increased the likelihood of an individual attempting CPR and displayed superior skills than an individual who did not watch the video .
Studies demonstrate that children as young as nine to 10-years old have the capability to learn theoretical knowledge , practical skills , and improve self-belief in providing first aid (“ The ( second ) year of first aid : A 15-month follow-up after a three-day first aid programme ”, Banfai et al .,
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Emerg Med J , Vol . 36 , Issue 11 , 2019 ). This shows that primary school children should also be given first aid training . Past training predicts future training .
Hence , “ early exposure to training may increase the likelihood of continued , lifelong training ”. Since knowledge has shown to be significantly less in those who attended training more than five years ago compared to those who attended less within the same time frame , it is crucial to provide refresher and follow-up training . Poor knowledge of the procedure is a primary reason for an unwillingness to perform CPR .
However , first-aid training simulations may not necessarily reflect real-life situations . Trainers often test a single skill and provide feedback in contrast to real-life situations wherein individuals can suffer from multiple emergencies ( such as bleeding and lack of breathing ). Hence , it is critical to improve first aid training to resemble life-like situations more closely .
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