Assessing the links between first aid training and community resilience 25 > The benefits of learning as a community, rather than an individual, were also commented on in the focus groups, as captured in the following words: “if one of us has forgotten, another two will remember”. > People who agreed that they know someone in their community to go to for first aid help were both more willing and confident to give first aid than those who did not agree.14 > Confidence was also related to whether others in the community know the respondent has had first aid training. People who reported that they did know were more confident in their own ability to give first aid than those who did not.15 Willingness was not related to this. > Qualitative responses also support a link between first aid training and learning. Many identified first aid knowledge as a key gain of first aid training, and thought that training would equip people in the community with the skills needed to act in an emergency. In “When I told other members of my addition, one respondent noted that first aid community I had attended a first aid course, training would only build community 4 others went on to do first aid courses also resilience if “the communities were aware so we can be better able to cope with accidents of who was first aid trained”. and emergencies.” This implies that first aid training, regardless > Levels of both willingness and confidence of recency, has an impact on the resilience of a were higher for people who had shared first community through learning about the resource of aid skills or knowledge or recommended first aid and who can provide this when required. training to someone else than those who had And as with social connectedness and community not.16 Whether or not people had told someone efficacy, learning in the community is enhanced about their training was not related to either through training as a community. willingness or confidence. spread of knowledge The high rate of spread of knowledge is > Nearly all (95%) of the Trained respondents promising, as is the evidence that it is has an had told someone they had received first aid effect on the community and appears to be training, and around two thirds had shared influenced by the outcomes of first aid training. first aid skills or knowledge (63%) or recommended first aid training to someone else (67%). This knowledge was most often 3.3.4 Readiness to respond spread to family and friends. > Over half of respondents said their community > The importance of spreading knowledge had access to a first aid kit (68%) or had taken about first aid training is illustrated by one steps to reduce risks to their health and safety respondent in response to an open-ended (54%). Eleven percent had done “something question: else”, and this often included having a designated trained first aider, or having taken the first aid training itself. Qualitative evidence 14 Mean is displayed within the range of 1-40 for willingness, and 1-20 for confidence. Willingness, agree 34.9: do not agree 33.8, t(536)=-2.02, 16 Mean is displayed within the range of 1-40 for willingness, and 1-20 for p<0.05. Confidence, agree 16.1: do not agree 15.3, t(534)=-2.53, confidence. Willingness by whether shared, shared 35.3: did not share p<0.05. 33.2, t(529)=-4.52, p<0.01. Willingness by whether recommended, 15 Mean is displayed within the range of 1-40 for willingness, and 1-20 for recommended 35.0: did not recommend 33.6, t(532)=-2.84, p<0.01. confidence. Willingness, agree 34.9: do not agree 33.8, t(536)=-2.02, Confidence by whether shared, shared 16.5: did not share 15.1, t(527)=- p<0.05. Confidence, agree 16.1: do not agree 15.3, t(534)=-2.53, 5.33, p<0.01. Confidence by whether recommended, recommended p<0.05. 16.3: did not recommend 15.4, t(529)=-3.55, p<0.01.