SynthesisBulletin of the World Health Organization2021
Emergency care with lay responders in underserved populations: a systematic review.
Synthesis in Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- First aid training for laypeople.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- The effect of external bleeding control training courses on lay first-person responders'knowledge, skills, and attitudes in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society · 2025Pooled it
- Emergency care in post-conflict settings: a systematic literature review.BMC emergency medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Changes in knowledge and attitude after community-based first-aid training: a prospective study with a 12-month follow-up.World journal of emergency medicine · 2026Article
- Knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward basic first aid skills among university students in China: a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Evaluation of the effectiveness of health education on first aid with the provision of first aid kits among rural households of India: A quasi-experimental study.Journal of public health research · 2026Article
- First aid training in conflict zones: An interventional training study and a post-training knowledge assessment.SAGE open medicine · 2026Article
- Evaluating training and competency assessment in public and community psychiatry: a narrative review.BMC medical education · 2025Review
- Task-shifting and system readiness: a narrative review of strategies for pediatric emergency care in low-resource settings.International journal of emergency medicine · 2025Review
- Description and evaluation of a national humanitarian opioid poisoning education and naloxone distribution program.Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique · 2025Article
- Mobile phone-based systems for community-led injury response and coordination: a scoping review protocol.International journal of surgery protocols · 2025Article
- Needs assessment and Acceptability of a Community First Aid Responder programme to increase Out-of-hospital capacity in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo: A qualitative study.African journal of emergency medicine : Revue africaine de la medecine d'urgence · 2025Article
- Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Medical Students Toward Prehospital Emergency Care: A Cross-Sectional Study.Advances in medical education and practice · 2025Article
- The Effectiveness of Instructor Course of Basic Maritime Emergency Care on Knowledge and Skill Among Laypersons: A Mixed Methods Design.Nursing research and practice · 2025Article
- Cardiopulmonary resuscitation in Brazilian medical television shows: a descriptive and quality assessment study.Critical care science · 2025Article
- Prehospital Emergency Care: A Cross-Sectional Survey of First-Aid Preparedness Among Layperson First Responders in Northern Uganda.Open access emergency medicine : OAEM · 2024Article
- Task Shifting and Task Sharing Implementation in Africa: A Scoping Review on Rationale and Scope.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Reducing opioid use disorder and overdose deaths in the United States: A dynamic modeling analysis.Science advances · 2022Article
- Training and certification in first responder care among mountaineering practitioners in east Africa.African journal of emergency medicine : Revue africaine de la medecine d'urgence · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
18 authors at 10 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo assess the individual and community health effects of task shifting for emergency care in low-resource settings and underserved populations worldwide.
methodsWe systematically searched 13 databases and additional grey literature for studies published between 1984 and 2019. Eligible studies involved emergency care training for laypeople in underserved or low-resource populations, and any quantitative assessment of effects on the health of individuals or communities. We conducted duplicate assessments of study eligibility, data abstraction and quality. We synthesized findings in narrative and tabular format.
findingsOf 19 308 papers retrieved, 34 studies met the inclusion criteria from low- and middle-income countries (21 studies) and underserved populations in high-income countries (13 studies). Targeted emergency conditions included trauma, burns, cardiac arrest, opioid poisoning, malaria, paediatric communicable diseases and malnutrition. Trainees included the general public, non-health-care professionals, volunteers and close contacts of at-risk populations, all trained through in-class, peer and multimodal education and public awareness campaigns. Important clinical and policy outcomes included improvements in community capacity to manage emergencies (14 studies), patient outcomes (13 studies) and community health (seven studies). While substantial effects were observed for programmes to address paediatric malaria, trauma and opioid poisoning, most studies reported modest effect sizes and two reported null results. Most studies were of weak (24 studies) or moderate quality (nine studies).
conclusionFirst aid education and task shifting to laypeople for emergency care may reduce patient morbidity and mortality and build community capacity to manage health emergencies for a variety of emergency conditions in underserved and low-resource settings.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.