Teaching wilderness first aid in a remote First Nations community: the story of the Sachigo Lake Wilderness Emergency Response Education Initiative

Abstract

ObjectiveTo understand how community members of a remote First Nations community respond to an emergency first aid education programme.Study designA qualitative study involving focus groups and participant observation as part of a community-based participatory research project, which involved the development and implementation of a wilderness first aid course in collaboration with the community.MethodsTwenty community members participated in the course and agreed to be part of the research focus groups. Three community research partners validated and reviewed the data collected from this process. These data were coded and analysed using open coding.ResultsCommunity members responded to the course in ways related to their past experiences with injury and first aid, both as individuals and as members of the community. Feelings of confidence and self-efficacy related access to care and treatment of injury surfaced during the course. Findings also highlighted how the context of the remote First Nations community influenced the delivery and development of course materials.ConclusionsDeveloping and delivering a first aid course in a remote community requires sensitivity towards the response of participants to the course, as well as the context in which it is being delivered. Employing collaborative approaches to teaching first aid can aim to address these unique needs. Though delivery of a first response training programme in a small remote community will probably not impact the morbidity and mortality associated with injury, it has the potential to impact community self-efficacy and confidence when responding to an emergency situation.

Community-Based Emergency Care: A Model for Prehospital Care in Remote Canadian Communities

“…1 Without formal paramedicine systems in many remote First Nations communities in Canada, bystanders, friends, and family members shoulder the responsibility to transport severely ill and injured patients to local nursing stations and clinics. 5,6,10,12 The result is a fragile and unpredictable chain of survival. In spite of the occasional heroic success story, these informal systems are an unsafe and unreliable patchwork of community goodwill and clinical near-misses.…”

“…In spite of the occasional heroic success story, these informal systems are an unsafe and unreliable patchwork of community goodwill and clinical near-misses. 6,12 All are characterized by inadequate training, tragic underfunding, and inexcusable inequity. 1,6,10,12 Remote communities and their citizens deserve better.…”

“…These were costly, broke down quickly, and required specialized training. 10,12 Now, old ambulance carcasses litter some community truck dumps. Dust gathers on unused or broken first response equipment in nursing station storage closets.…”

Backcountry Travel Emergencies in Arctic Canada: A Pilot Study in Public Health Surveillance

“…Arctic land and marine search and rescue (SAR) is provided through partnerships between the police, military, coast guard, and volunteer SAR organizations. Some communities have developed local teams to complement established systems, or as alternatives, and have also worked to improve first responder skills among community members [9]. The multiplicity of organizations highlight the lack of a centralized and standardized database of SAR activities across Canada [10].…”

Service Learning for Empowering Tribal Peoples with Living Labs for Medical Education Reform in Taiwan

“…Such partnerships have become a major strategy for overcoming health gaps related to cultural barriers [10] and to achieve better outcomes in difficult health situations, such as in the process of cancer treatment [11]. Combining narrative medicine with smart technology applications has poten-tial for resolving obstacles to community building and health promotion [12]. It is therefore important to cultivate medical students" competence as facilitators capable of bringing users into the process of technology innovation.…”