Evaluation of a Lay First Responder Program in Sierra Leone as a Scalable Model for Prehospital Trauma Care.

Introduction: Few countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have robust emergency medical services (EMS). The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends scaling-up lay first responder programs as the first step toward formal EMS development.

Materials And Methods: We trained and equipped 4,529 lay first responders (LFRs) between June-December 2019 in Bombali District, Sierra Leone, with a 5-hour hands-on, contextually-adapted prehospital trauma course to cover 535,000 people.