Development of Evidence-Based First Aid Guidelines for Laypeople in Flanders, Belgium

Introduction: First aid training of laypeople is important to make people self-reliant in emergency situations or disasters and to strengthen community resilience. Aim: The aim of this project was to develop a First Aid manual ‘Help! First aid for everyone' according to the Evidence-Based Practice methodology, including several first aid and preventive topics as well as risk factors. Methods: Evidence-based guidelines were developed according to our methodological charter and the AGREE II checklist for guideline development. Three databases (MEDLINE, using the PubMed Interface; Embase using the Embase.com interface and the Cochrane Library) were searched for the best available evidence. The quality of identified evidence was assessed using the GRADE methodology. Draft recommendations were formulated and presented to a panel of medical experts. Results: 319 topic-specific searches were performed. A total of 118716 references were screened out of which finally 533 studies were included as a basis for the guidelines. Two examples of effective interventions, keeping burn blisters intact and the use of hand sanitizers, are provided in detail. Conclusion: Evidence-Based first aid and prevention guidelines were developed for Flanders. This manual will be used as a basis for the first aid courses provided by the Belgian Red Cross-Flanders.