HANDS 2 HELP

This product is the result of a research project of the Master’s Course in Sciences Applied to Health of the University of Vassouras, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, conducted by the student Ruy Nogueira Jr. MD, advised by Professor Dr. Marco Aurélio dos Santos Silva. This game was inspired by a feeling inherent to humans: sympathy among inmates.

The tragedies that affect the health of people can be personal or collective. Regardless of their type, they have always occurred around the world. Still in the 19th century, we saw the beginning of organized movements of human aids, aimed at health protection: the RED CROSS. The guiding principles of this pioneering organization were the beginnings of methodized actions that were named as “FIRST AID”.

In the 20th century, first aid has taken its purposes to another level, beyond the contexts in which it has traditionally had a special spot, such as places on war and in several different situations of human catastrophes. Initiatives around the world have survived to teach first aid measures to communities in general, usually supported by local legislations, especially in Europe and in the USA. Many of these initiatives were sponsored by the UNITED NATIONS, by means of its arm in the health area, the WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO), an institution that always observes the health systems of a number of countries, as well as the changes that occur in those countries nowadays, largely by means of INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY

CARDIOPULMONARY RESUSCITATION (CPR) is the most relevant topic in the scope of first aid. The relevance of this topic has been boosted by the creation of the INTERNATIONAL LIAISON COMITTEE ON RESUSCITATION, an organization that today gathers all correlated data by means of global uniformization of the collection and compilation of these data.

In parallel, the paradigm shift in the training of lay people, either voluntarily or not, has developed to include the topic in the subjects of school curriculum. The efforts to do so have strongly increased since the AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION has recommended compulsory teaching of CARDIOPULMONARY RESUSCITATION (CPR) at schools. Another bold initiative was the program "Kids Save Lives", with the endorsement of the WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO), which trains children in CPR in the countries of the European Union.

Using as a background the eLearning concepts adopted by the WHO’S Health Academy program, this app was developed to be a tool to INSTRUCT the recognition of a cardiac arrest and the first response to a CPR. It was basically developed for lay people, either adults or school children, based on the advantages of the educational process conventionally called “gamification”, with emphasis on interaction and feedback. We tried to show different random scenarios, as well as use elements to motivate and challenge the players and focus their attention in order to learn the subject. One of the game’s functionality is the non-progression of phases, in case the players choose a wrong answer, so that they memorize the correct sequence of a CPR protocol. The app is not aimed at assessing the learning process of the topic, but it provides a score system for players, in case they choose to check their performance. Although the game is NOT INTENDED TO EVALUATE KNOWLEDGE, it has a score system so that the learners can check their performance.

Regarding the technical aspect, the game focus on the concept of CPR with high-quality thoracic compressions. Although the game is not intended to replace in any way the specific skills in CPR and does not predict the behavior of the player/learner in a real situation, we believe that common language and easy access to this app have potential for being a helpful tool to train more and more first responders for this type of emergency, in agreement with the global campaign "WORLD RESTART A HEART"!

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Play the game and save a life in a fun way!