First Aid Heroes Within Reach - How Apps are Striving to Save Lives
Locating Assistance in Close Proximity: Can Life-Saving Notifications from a Mobile App Make a Difference? - Nearby Aids - Unnerving Lifesaver Role of Alarm App
When life hangs in the balance, every second counts. This sentiment is well-known to the volunteer firefighters huddled in the Essen fire station training room. Despite their long-time familiarity with the meaning of this mantra, they maintain vigilance as they learn to use their smartphones, everyday knowledge, and luck to potentially become lifesavers. Known as Mobile Helpers, they will soon receive emergency alerts via an app, making them part of a growing network that experts in emergency medicine say needs to be denser for maximum impact.
Born in 2013 as one of the first nationwide first-aider alerting systems in Germany, the Mobile Helpers app currently connects approximately 22,500 participants across nearly 40 cities and districts in six federal states.
Life versus Death, Math in Action
The math could not be simpler: Over 120,000 people nationwide outside of hospitals suffer sudden cardiac arrest annually, and only one in ten survive due, in part, to fire departments taking an average of nine minutes to arrive at the scene. First-aider apps, already established in Scandinavia and the Netherlands, could prove vital, emphasize experts from the Björn Steiger Foundation in their position paper.
"After just three minutes, the brain begins to die. We must fill the gap," says Brand Inspector Jan Kuhlmann, responsible for training Mobile Helpers at the Essen fire department. In densely populated regions, long distances and traffic congestion can make fast assistance difficult, making the system even more valuable, according to Kuhlmann.
Trained Laypeople are Key
Mobile Helpers in Essen consist mostly of firefighters, but also nursing staff, emergency responders, and doctors. According to Kuhlmann, simply completing a first-aid course for a driver's license is not sufficient. "The control center must have confidence that the person they send out has the required skills."
Since the introduction of the program in 2019, over 1,000 helpers in Essen have been alerted approximately 1,900 times, with around 550 of them actually responding—arriving at the scene in about three and a half minutes, often before professional responders.
The Lifesaving Idea
The concept for the app came from East Westphalian emergency physician Ralf Stroop, inspired by the flashing lights of an ambulance he witnessed in his neighborhood. Realizing he could have given aid earlier if he had known about the emergency sooner, he embarked on the idea.
A Widening Network
Over the years, a number of similar applications have appeared: At least six such systems are now in use throughout Germany, including the "Region of Life Savers," which is primarily active in Baden-Württemberg, and the "Corhelper" app, which boasts thousands of registered first-aid responders. Schleswig-Holstein has even established a statewide system.
"These are still disconnected solutions, with diverse standards in detail and without comprehensive cross-technology alerts," says Mobile Helpers CEO Stefan Prasse. "But we all share the common goal of saving lives," he emphasizes.
Support from Emergency Physicians
Currently, representatives from different providers are collaborating to establish common standards: "Not everyone needs to use the same system, but systems must be interoperable," says Prasse. In addition to technology, ongoing volunteer management is crucial for maintaining engagement. "Anything that encourages participation in the project is possible, such as joint activities, networking via social media, and sharing success stories," says Prasse.
Emergency medicine professionals support this approach and advocate for comprehensive, legal implementation. "These apps are currently the most effective way to improve cardiac arrest survivability rates," says Clemens Kill, head of the Center for Emergency Medicine in Essen and chairman of the German Society for Rescue Services and Prehospital Emergency Medicine (DGRN).
"Ideally, every citizen would know lifesaving skills and be willing to act. However, reality is different: The rate of citizen resuscitation in Germany is still lower than in countries like Sweden and the Netherlands, despite considerable efforts to promote training in schools," says Kill. "It's challenging to teach people something they usually don't need until many years into the future," he states.
Proposed adjustments include compensating trained rescuers and ensuring control centers follow consistent guidelines for instructing callers over the phone about resuscitation techniques. "We must integrate the entire 'blue light' family into such first-aider systems. Even police officers and firefighters know how to administer CPR," demands Kill. He believes that the state should not leave the decision of whether a control center uses an app to individual choice: "Instead, it should be part of the legal foundations for emergency services."
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- Netlhands' help to the public.
First aiders and first aid apps in Germany, like Mobile Helpers, are novel tools designed to improve survival rates during emergencies like cardiac arrest. These apps work by leveraging location-based technology to identify nearby trained responders and alert them to emergencies within their vicinity. This system's effectiveness hinges on having enough registered users, seamless integration with professional emergency services, continuous volunteer training, and legal frameworks to address privacy concerns, liability issues, and standardization. Addressing these challenges is essential to these apps' wide adoption and efficacy.
These first aider apps, including Mobile Helpers in Germany, are technological innovations that strive to enhance survival rates during emergencies, particularly during cardiac arrest. By utilizing location-based technology to identify and alert nearby trained responders, they bridge the gap between the onset of an emergency and the arrival of professional help. To ensure their effectiveness, it's crucial to have an adequate number of registered users, seamless integration with traditional emergency services, continuous vocational training for volunteers, and legal frameworks to tackle privacy issues, liability concerns, and standardization. Overcoming these challenges is crucial for the wide adoption and success of such apps. Additionally, these apps can complement science-based health-and-wellness initiatives and vocational training programs, ultimately contributing to community resilience and saving lives.
