First Aid Project – BeMSA Belgium

Name of the activity: First Aid Project

Country/NMO: BeMSA Belgium

Program: Health Systems

Contact information: contact [email protected] to get in touch with the Activity Coordinator

Type of the activity: Continuous Activity

Category: Education

Focus area: Rural/community health

Sustainable Development Goals addressed: SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), SDG 17 (Partnerships)

General description:

With the EHBO projects small groups of medical students visit schools in the Antwerp area to teach basic first aid and reanimation. To ensure the class is interactive and accessible the 18 year olds can practise on specialised equipment. We hope to transform the youngsters from disaster tourists to useful helpers in emergencies. 

By capacitating these youngsters we hope that some are motivated to further expand their knowledge with organisations like the red cross. 

Problem statement:

In Belgium it takes 10 minutes on average for an ambulance to arrive. Despite this remarkably fast response a lot can happen in those 10 minutes. Reanimation and proper first aid can be life saving. Knowledge and confidence are central, by refreshing skills regularly people are more likely to actually perform first aid in real life situations. 

Target groups:

• Youth

Beneficiaries:

• General population
• Medical students
• Doctors
• Youth

Objectives:

During one academic year, we expect to teach the class in 3 different schools around the Antwerp Region. 

During one academic year, we expect to teach the class to 200 18-year olds. 

*an academic year in Belgium is from september until june (that’s when students are on campus)

Indicators:

After one year, we teached the first aid course in 3 different schools. 

After one year, we teached the first aid course to 200 18-year olds. 

After the first hour of the class, 30% of 18 year olds were capable of performing good reanimation on a practice dummy. 

After the next two hours of the class, 50% of 18 year olds were capable of performing basic first aid such as bandaging and the heimlich manoeuvre. 

After the last hour of the class, 60% of 18 year olds were capable of recognizing the signs of the most common cardiovascular emergencies. (i.e. stroke, heart attack)

Methodology:

The First Aid Project is an offline First Aid course teached to 18 year olds by trained medical students, with specialised materials provided by the university. 

Timeline: (1) electing our team for the year in July and August (2) preparations start in September (contacting schools, recruiting medical students) (3) forming working groups that will visit the schools (4) the courses are taught throughout March and April (5) end of the year evaluation 

Leadership:

– Administration and external representation by NPO and Program Coördinator 

– Logistical support by LPO

– Creative and executive work by project managers 

Resources: University of Antwerp

Risk management:

Risks are estimated, assessed and limited by the Local Executive boards (insurance is provided nationaly) 

Plans for evaluation:

“- Quantitative assessment of the amount of schools visited in one academic year

– Quantitative assessment of the amount of students that followed the course in one academic year

– Quantitative assessment of each group of 18 year old by the attending students, through a simple paper form

– Qualitative assessment through a joint, evaluation meeting between the project managers, the LPO’s and NPO. 

– Photographic evidence provided by the PR assistant “

External collaborations:

University of Antwerp