Empowering Bystanders to Intervene: Trauma Responders Unify to Empower (TRUE) Communities

Timely and effective bystander first aid can improve outcomes for trauma victims. Bystanders are present at most traumas and are more likely to assist with prior training.

An evidence-based course was created for the general public in high-risk Chicago neighborhoods focused on basic traumatic first aid, including scene management, hemorrhage control, and mitigating the psychological impact of trauma to overcome the bystander effect. Prospectively, participants completed knowledge-based and self-efficacy assessments precourse, postcourse, and 6 mo follow-up. The change in self-efficacy and knowledge scores was analyzed.

Over 32 courses, 503 participants were taught; 474 and 460 participants completed precourse and postcourse surveys, respectively, whereas 60 of 327 who consented for follow-up completed the 6-mo survey. Postcourse, participants were more likely to assist trauma victims and felt more confident in the quality of care they could provide; the effect remained significant at 6 mo (all P < 0.001). All seven self-efficacy empowerment-based questions individually demonstrated improvement from precourse to postcourse (P < 0.001), with an overall mean (SD) increase of 2.8 (2.1, P < 0.001); six maintained significance at follow-up with an overall mean increase of 2.8 (1.9, P < 0.001). Knowledge scores improved from 6.2 of 10 to 7.2 postcourse and 7.7 at follow-up (P < 0.001). Most improved were the ability to render first aid and apply tourniquets.

The TFRC increased self-efficacy, successfully teaching initial trauma care, particularly hemorrhage control and scene safety, suggesting that a grassroots approach to trauma care may improve outcomes in communities that experience high violence rates.