Everyday Responder Project @ UCLA

According to a study conducted in 2017, the average EMS response time is about 6 minutes. However, this number was roughly doubled in rural settings, with nearly 1 in 10 encounters resulting in a wait time of over half an hour. When applying these metrics to some of the leading causes of death in the emergency prehospital setting (cardiac arrest and traumatic bleeding), an issue becomes apparent – time. The brain begins to suffer damage after roughly 4 minutes without oxygen and progresses toward irreversible damage after about 7 minutes. There are about half a million deaths from cardiac arrest in the U.S. every year, but a study conducted in 2009 revealed that, out of 138 bystanders who called 911 for a cardiac-related emergency, about half of the cardiac arrests were not detected. Similar patterns can be observed in bleeding emergencies, with over one-third of mortality from all traumatic injuries being attributed to severe hemorrhage and roughly 50% of hemorrhage-related deaths occurring before reaching a hospital. With most medical emergencies benefitting from immediate intervention, an effective approach to improving patient outcomes involves placing everyday people at the forefront of the medical care team. Understanding how to effectively engage the emergency response system and provide basic first aid (i.e. bleed control and CPR) can drastically improve a patient’s likelihood of survival. Previous research has highlighted the efficacy of bystander training programs in improving patient outcomes and increasing bystander confidence in providing medical aid: “Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by laypersons (so-called bystanders) improves the chances of survival by a factor of 2-4” - Current Opinion in Critical Care (2015). “The proportion of students showing willingness to perform BLS increased from 13% to 77% after [training] even when the collapsed person is a stranger” — Resuscitation (2016). With the aim of improving accessibility to bystander medical training, the Everyday Responder Project (ERP) was founded in December 2020 by two students at the University of Southern California. The current ERP team consists of a variety of healthcare, educational, and creative professionals who are passionate about developing and teaching medical content. With the help of ERP’s volunteers, the organization has begun to pilot its core curriculum and work on larger, longitudinal projects that will help improve medical literacy and emergency preparedness in the various communities across California and beyond.

http://www.everydayresponderproject.org
srikarchintala@g.ucla.edu

Signatories: Srikar Chintala, Kenneth Chang, and Charlie Sjogren-Black

Advisor: Pamela R Cysner