Americans express broad support for initiatives to train and equip first responders and the public to render first aid for bleeding control in mass casualty incidents. Large majorities also say they personally would be likely to give such aid – especially if training and supplies were available.
There are compunctions: Six in 10 or more cite the risk of causing additional pain or injury, being responsible for a bad outcome or exposure to disease as impediments to aiding trauma victims. Yet for many, the desire to help outweighs these concerns.
These results from a national survey for the Hartford Consensus are published in an article in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, written by Lenworth M. Jacobs, MD; Karyl J. Burns, RN, Ph.D.; Gary Langer; and Chad Kiewiet de Jonge, Ph.D. Our full report for the Hartford Consensus can be viewed here.