World First Aid Day is celebrated annually on the second Saturday of September. This global event encourages everyone to get actively involved through concrete actions, contributing to the emergence of a proactive and supportive citizenry, serving as the first link in the . Our collaborating centre, the (GFARC) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, coordinates this event and provides valuable resources to national Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies worldwide. For more information about World First Aid Day, visit the .
This year, World First Aid Day highlights the theme "First Aid and Climate Change". Climate change poses a major threat to human health, with extreme weather events like heatwaves, floods, and wildfires becoming more frequent and intense. These emergencies demand swift adaptation of response systems. In addition, a well-trained community is more resilient and better prepared to protect lives. That is why first aid plays a vital role—not only by equipping people with life-saving skills, but also by raising awareness of environmental risks and encouraging preventive action.
But is first aid training of laypeople (i.e. those without formal healthcare education) effective? Our recently published suggests this is (somewhat) the case! It showed that we can be moderately confident that laypeople’s first aid knowledge, skills and self-efficacy are improved by first aid training in the short term. This and other key findings of the review, including the unknowns, are listed in the following infographic:
