Traumatic injuries -- like those sustained in car crashes or falls -- are what kill the most people between ages one and 44 in the U.S., even more than cancer, HIV, or the flu. In fact, a person can die from blood loss in just a few minutes. While these statistics likely won't change overnight, training the public to treat injuries offers hope during an emergency, says Dr. Craig Goolsby, science director of USU's National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health (NCDMPH).
"We want people to be ready when a tragedy occurs," Goolsby said. "We're trying to get as many people as possible to learn how to treat life-threatening injuries."
For the past several years, Goolsby and his team at USU have been leaders in the national "Stop the Bleed" campaign, launched by the White House in 2015. The public-private effort encourages bystanders to become trained, equipped, and empowered to help in a bleeding emergency before first responders arrive.
Over the last few years, Goolsby and USU's NCDMPH have focused their efforts on this campaign, in particular, on researching the most effective ways to educate people on how to "Stop the Bleed" and how to quickly take action when an emergency happens, potentially saving the life of a loved one, friend, or even a stranger in a public space. They've published several studies looking at which teaching methods are most effective at helping learners absorb this information -- online, in person, "just in time" training," or a combination of those modalities. They've also been developing smarter and more intuitive devices that can help facilitate bleeding control.
In addition, they are working on designing new education programs that are identified for specific learner populations, such as high school students, who haven't yet been targeted as robustly with this information, Goolsby said.
In collaboration with the American Red Cross and with funding from the Department of Homeland Security, NCDMPH has developed the first national Stop the Bleed course designed specifically for high schoolers, called First Aid for Severe Trauma, or FAST. This course and its digital materials, which will soon be offered at no cost to high school students nationwide under the age of 19, teaches how to stop bleeding after an injury.