The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) in association with the American Heart Association (AHA) has chalked out an Arabic translation of the AHA’s successful Heart Saver First Aid course, in order to reach out to a larger number of the population living and working in Dubai and the Arab world.
The course, first launched in Dubai, is the first Arabic course produced by the AHA. The contents of the course are the same as the AHA’s First Aid Heart Saver course. The translation was done thought a
professional organization and reviewed by a team of Arab healthcare professionals, lead by regional AHA faculty from the Dubai Health Authority.
Dr Khalil Qayed, Director of Medical Education Department at the DHA said, “This partnership is a fruit of our existing long-term association with the AHA in life support and simulation training. The need to have an Arabic course in addition to the existing English one stems from the common belief that both organizations share, which is the need to train more people in First Aid & CPR, so that we can help save more lives in Dubai. Thus, we decided to work on an Arabic language course because it gives us the opportunity to reach out to a larger audience base, as well as give emphasis to our Arabic identity.”
Glenn M. Vanden Houten, Territory Director - Europe & Africa, Acting Territory Director - Middle East from the American Heart Association said, “Effective CPR can help make the difference between life and death, buying valuable time and increasing the likelihood that the victim can successfully be defibrillated by an electric shock. It is a universal opportunity: the more people and bystanders who are trained and aware of their ability, the more lives that will be saved.”
The course is aimed to reach out to the public said Dr Mohamed Nasaif, Head of Professional Development Center at the Medical Education Department in DHA. “The AHA is one of the most renowned in the world in Emergency Cardiovascular Care training. This course covers many emergency situations where first aid intervention is essential. This includes providing first aid for heart attacks, stroke, epilepsy, chocking, asthma, etc. Research has time and time again shown that correct and timely bystander intervention can significantly improve patient outcome.
The seven-hour training program is expected to begin next month and the DHA will provide this training by reaching out to different focus groups. Dr Nasaif said, “We aim to begin by training Dubai Government Employees particularity those working in airports and other such places that have a high volume of people at any given point in time.”
He said that the DHA will also provide training for schools and sports clubs. Individuals from the General Public, interested in upgrading their skills will also be welcome. This also applies to institutions who would like to train their staff; especially those contemplating to purchase Automated External Defibrillators – AEDs – for their facilities.
“The importance of training people in First Aid and CPR cannot be over emphasized,” he said.