Life-Saving Apps on the Rise: First Aid in Your Hands, Whenever and Wherever
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In the face of an emergency, time is of the essence. Trained volunteers at the Essen fire station know this all too well. They're ready to leap into action, armed with first aid knowledge, smartphones, and a touch of luck. With the help of first responder apps like Mobile Rescuers, they aim to bridge the gap between crisis and resuscitation.
The wave of first aider apps, originally kicked off in 2013 by Mobile Rescuers in Germany, connects over 22,500 participants across nearly 40 cities. These digital lifesavers are part of a growing network that could change the game when it comes to saving lives. But, as emergency physicians stress, for a truly substantial impact, density is key.
The numbers speak for themselves: According to the German Resuscitation Council, close to 120,000 cardiac arrests occur annually outside of hospitals, with only one in ten survivors. The average response time for emergency services? Nine minutes. This is where first responder apps come into play, with applications already well-established in Scandinavia and the Netherlands.
You might wonder what sets the brain on its survival-throttling timeline. The answer: three minutes. That's when the brain starts to die. And we have to fill this gap, says Brand Inspector Jan Kuhlmann, who heads Mobile Rescuer training at the Essen fire station. In the city, it's dense traffic. In the countryside, it's long distances. This is where Mobile Rescuers come in, providing a much-needed boost to quick help.
Being a first response member means more than having a passing knowledge of CPR and first aid techniques. It means demonstrating proficient skills and adhering to straightforward technical procedures. The certification process, therefore, focuses not on the techniques themselves but on the practical application of them.
Ready to jump into action, the over 1,000 helpers in Essen have been alerted around 1,900 times since the app’s introduction, responding approximately 550 times with an average response time of 3.5 minutes, often beating the emergency services. The seeds of this app were sown by East Westphalian emergency physician Ralf Stroop, who realized the importance of immediate action when he saw the flashing lights of an ambulance in his neighborhood. The spark soon grew into a fireside blaze of innovation designed to transform lives.
As numerous imitators have emerged on the scene, the "Region of Life Savers" and "Corhelper" being the most notable, the app landscape is filled with various first responder systems. Each system is a unique blend of technique, tech, and collaboration. However, compatibility between these systems and the use of common standards are still evolving.
Coming together to form a cohesive front, developers and emergency medicine representatives alike are working to establish a network of compatible systems. As Stefan Prasse, CEO of Mobile Rescuers, puts it, "We all share the same goal of saving lives." But, technology alone is not enough. Active volunteer management must be in place to ensure continuous engagement, with incentives like joint activities, networking via social media, and sharing success stories being deployed to inspire continued action.
Emergency medicine champions the Mobile Rescuer approach and wishes for a comprehensive and legally-anchored implementation. Ideally, every citizen would know basic first aid and be ready to act, Clemens Kill, director of the Center for Emergency Medicine in Essen, says. Reality, however, is a different story. The rate of lay resuscitation in Germany is still behind that of other countries like Sweden and the Netherlands.
"Of course, it's difficult to teach people something they usually only need decades later," says Kill. While the effectiveness of phone-guided, CPR instructions is not consistently practiced across all control centers, integration of the "blue light" family (police officers, firefighters, and healthcare professionals) into first responder systems would offer a significant boost to this lifesaving initiative. Whether a control center works with an app, Kuhl says, should not be left to chance. Instead, it should be a decisive step within the legal foundations of the rescue service.
- In the quest to enhance lifesaving initiatives, discussions are underway to foster compatibility between various first responder apps, such as Mobile Rescuers, Region of Life Savers, and Corhelper, ensuring a cohesive network for immediate response.
- As science, health-and-wellness, and technology continue to intertwine, an emphasis on vocational training, particularly in first aid and emergency response, becomes increasingly crucial in preparing communities for potential life-threatening events, following the 'Community policy' framework.
