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Laypeople perception and interpretation of simulated life-threatening bleeding: a controlled experimental study
Erik Prytz1,2, Rachel Phillips3, Susanna Lönnqvist4
1Department of Computer and Information Science, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden. erik.prytz@liu.se.
BMC Emergency Medicine
|September 5, 2021
Summary
Laypersons underestimate the severity of bleeding and the urgency of first aid. Training should address misconceptions about blood loss and response times, and be mindful of gender biases in injury assessment.
Area of Science:
- Emergency Medicine
- Trauma Care
- Public Health Education
Background:
- Immediate first aid is critical in trauma with massive bleeding.
- Effective layperson training requires understanding public beliefs and misconceptions about bleeding severity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess laypersons' perceptions of bleeding severity and appropriate first aid responses.
- To identify misconceptions that may hinder effective bleeding control training.
Main Methods:
- 175 American college students viewed simulated bleeding video clips with varied blood volume, flow rate, and victim gender.
- Participants rated injury severity, recommended first aid, and estimated time to death.
Main Results:
- Participants underestimated the life-threatening nature of 165 ml blood loss, rating it as mild/moderate.
- Even with 1900 ml blood loss, participants overestimated survival time and sometimes recommended less effective interventions.
- A gender bias was observed, with higher severity ratings and tourniquet recommendations for male victims.
Conclusions:
- Bleeding control training must link blood loss classifications to actions and address time-to-death perceptions.
- Training should be designed to counteract misconceptions and gender-related biases in first aid.
- Standardized terminology and clear action-response connections are vital for effective bleeding control education.
