Funding outcome

Doctors, nurses, and emergency medical technicians (or paramedics) take a class every 2 years where they learn how to diagnose and treat medical emergencies in children. This class takes place over 2 days, and needs to be redone every 2 years. As part of the course, the students are given a reference card, that they carry with them. This card contains lots of information. There has been very little research done looking at how helpful this card is to people when they need it in an emergency, and how easy it is to use. It is a big, folding card, with small print. There are 10 panels, with 5 on each side, which means there is a lot of information to look at when you are in a stressful situation, and a sick child is depending on you. We want to make these cards as easy to use, and as useful, as possible. We will start by seeing how good they are now by video taping students during these classes. We want to see how often they look at and use their cards, and if it seems to help or confuse them. We will then ask the students what they like and don't like about the cards, and if they have any suggestions for improvement. We will then go back and watch all the video recordings, to see how and when people actually used their cards. We will then talk with artists, psychologists, and people who use the cards about how to improve the cards. After we have made some improvements to these cards, we will watch other students use them, and compare our findings to see if we have really made them more easy to use.