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Drowning pp 659–666Cite as

First Aid Courses for the Aquatic Environment

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Abstract

First aid in the aquatic environment requires specific skills and knowledge that are not taught in regular first aid education. Some topics are unique to aquatics. Target groups for such courses include persons living, playing, or working near or around the water. First aid courses tailored for the aquatic environment contribute to a competent rescue and resuscitation of a drowning victim and to the safety of the lay rescuer [1] or trained rescuer [2]. By including information on water safety awareness, these courses can also contribute to prevention and reduce the drowning burden. The relevance of an aquatic course was first extensively debated at an expert meeting Do we need a special first aid course for drowning victims during the World Congress on Drowning in the Netherlands 2002. Since 2002, first aid courses for the aquatic environment have been successfully organized around the world. This chapter reviews the importance and need of these courses and what has been learned.

Keywords

  • Aquatic Environment
  • Emergency Medical Service
  • Water Safety
  • Basic Life Support
  • Automate External Defibrillator

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Socieda Brasiliera de Salvamento Aquatico, Av. das Américas 3555, Bloco 2, Sala 302, Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 22631-004, Brasil

    David Szpilman

  2. Beach and Marine Safety, Miami Dade County Fire Rescue, 10800 Collings Avenue, North Miami Beach, FL, 33154, USA

    Luiz Morizot-Leite

  3. Doczero, Poort van Veghel 4934, 5468 SB, Veghel, The Netherlands

    Wiebe de Vries

  4. Department of Family Practice, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 2064-1200 Dufferin Crescent, Nanaimo, V95 4V0, Canada

    Steve Beerman

  5. Casa Patrão de Salva Vidas Ezequiel Seabra, Praia de Angeiras, Lavra, Matosinhos, 4455-204, Portugal

    Fernando Neves Rodrigues Martinho

  6. Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

    Luiz Smoris

  7. Research Center for Emergency Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Trøjborgvej 72-74, Building 30, Aarhus N, DK-8200, Denmark

    Bo Løfgren

  8. Surf Life Saving New Zealand, 39129, Wellington Mail Centre, Lower Hutt, 5045, New Zealand

    Jonathon Webber

Authors
  1. David Szpilman
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  2. Luiz Morizot-Leite
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  3. Wiebe de Vries
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  4. Steve Beerman
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  5. Fernando Neves Rodrigues Martinho
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  6. Luiz Smoris
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  7. Bo Løfgren
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  8. Jonathon Webber
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Correspondence to David Szpilman .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Maatschappij tot Redding van Drenkelingen, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Joost J.L.M. Bierens

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Szpilman, D. et al. (2014). First Aid Courses for the Aquatic Environment. In: Bierens, J. (eds) Drowning. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-04253-9_101

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-04253-9_101

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