Digital First Aid: Public Health Implications of Laypeople's Internet Reliance in Medical Emergencies.

OBJECTIVE

This study examined public attitudes and experiences in using the Internet for first aid guidance in real-life medical emergencies.

METHODS

The study involved: (1) an analysis of YouTube comments (n = 6,786) on first aid videos using latent Dirichlet allocation topic modeling; (2) a survey of completers of an online Basic Life Support course (n = 731).

RESULTS

Topic modeling of social media comments revealed users' frustration with unskippable advertisements, reflecting a collective perception of online videos as a source of immediate advice on first aid in real-life emergencies. According to the survey data, 14.6% of respondents sought online first-aid instructions during a real-life emergency. An additional 8.9% reported similar experiences among friends or relatives. Of those who searched for advice, 90.7% found and implemented instructions. Most respondents showed readiness to attempt this in future as they believe it could be lifesaving.

CONCLUSIONS

The existing public demand for, and continued use of, the Internet as a source of advice on first aid, the risks arising from laypeople's reliance on information of questionable quality, and the potential usefulness of authoritative digital guidance for instances where other means of assistance are unavailable constitute an intricate public health issue that requires attention and comprehensive solutions.