Aims and Scope

The International Journal of First Aid Education is a fully open-access journal that publishes peer-reviewed articles to advance the knowledge and practices of those involved in first aid and first aid education. Through our publications and community we aim to improve and increase the action taken to help people in health emergencies through high quality education, evidence-based medical application, and strong social and public policy to build resilience.

Each year millions of people are hurt or die unnecessarily due to acute illness or injury. High-quality first aid education, based on the best available evidence, contributes to developing helping behaviors and resilient communities.

The journal is founded on the Chain of Survival Behaviors which is central to all articles we publish. The chain conveys the wide scope of first aid’s educational domains:

• Prevention and preparedness for emergencies large and small;
• Early recognition of acute illness or injury;
• Provision of help, directly or by accessing Emergency Medical Services; and
• Support for recovery by the individual or through a health system.

These domains are relevant to everyone, everywhere regardless of context or medical training. Their application supports emergency response, encourages self-care, and public health. Giving a voice for evidence across these domains offers training providers the potential to produce confident, competent, and willing responders.

We accept a variety of manuscripts, from original research to views from the field to support a range of authors, recognizing that much of first aid practice is developed in the field by non-academic practitioners. Combining the talents of these experienced practitioners with the rigor brought through robust academic processes, we aim to publish innovative, novel, and unique manuscripts relevant to diverse audiences. 

We also strive to support the development of new authors and peer reviewers. If you are interested in becoming a peer reviewer, please contact the Editor.

Publication Frequency

The journal is published online as a continuous volume and issues throughout the year. Articles are made available as soon as they are ready to ensure that there are no unnecessary delays in getting content publicly available.

Special collections of articles are welcomed and will be published as part of the normal issue, but also within a separate collection page.

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. There is no embargo on the journal’s publications. Submission and acceptance dates, along with publication dates, are made available on the PDF format for each paper.

Authors of articles published remain the copyright holders and grant third parties the right to use, reproduce, and share the article according to the Creative Commons license agreement.

Authors are encouraged to publish their data in recommended repositories. For a list of generic and subject-specific repositories that meet our peer review criteria, visit the Open Access Directory or datacite.org.

Archiving and Indexing

The journal’s publisher focuses on making content discoverable and accessible through indexing services. This journal is indexed by DOAJ, Google Scholar, CINAHL, Asian Science Citation Index, and EBSCO Discovery Service;  and content is LOCKSS enabled.

Annotation and post-publication comment

The journal platform permits readers to leave comments on the publication page. Readers will need an account to leave comments. The journal platform also includes in-browser annotation and text highlighting options on full text formats via hypothes.is. Readers will have the option to make these publicly available, available to a group, or private.

Advertisement policy

The journal does not normally display adverts. On occasion, the editorial board may decide to display advertisements that are of relevance to its scope and will be of interest to the readership (e.g. upcoming conferences). All advertising space is provided free of charge and the editor and publisher have the right to decline or withdraw adverts at any point. Adverts will include a text heading to make it clear that they are adverts not related to the journal.