How Lifesaving Organisations Are Reinventing First Aid Training at a Fraction of the Cost?
Action-cards® were presented at the World Conference on Drowning Prevention in Egypt 2025.
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The World Conference on Drowning Prevention (Egypt, 2025)
The World Conference on Drowning Prevention (WCDP) brings together global experts, researchers, lifeguard organizations, NGOs, and policymakers to reduce drowning worldwide through evidence-based prevention, training, and collaboration. The conference drives real-world impact by turning research and shared best practices into safer communities and saved lives across regions and sectors.
Action-cards® presentation at World Conference on Drowning Prevention
Action-cards® were represented at the Word Conference on Drowning Prevention with a whole day poster session.
Here is what we presented and what we learned.
The majority of us believe....
This served as a powerful reminder that preparation is not guaranteed by knowledge alone.
This is not at all new knowledge. In fact, at WCDP back in 2019 we presented this finding backed by our own research and extensive literature studies.
The Challenge in First Aid Training
The same three enduring problems plagued a large European lifesaving organization that employed over 100 lifeguards to monitor pools and coasts.
- Rapid deterioration of skills
- High costs of training sessions
- A lack of regular practice opportunities
The question that came up was simple, if uncomfortable: Could we achieve sustained improvements in first aid performance without expanding training time or budgets?
The Microtraining Approach
Our approach provided a more effective training substitute for longer and significantly more expensive refresher courses by combining regular and brief microtraining sessions with gamified components.
Regular staff meetings included 10 to 15 minute bursts of first aid training for lifeguards. These meetings weren't arbitrary either. They were organized around performance data and meticulously crafted using learning science concepts like spaced repetition and retrieval practice.
Gamification increased the level of engagement. It also strengthens the recall of skills and promotes repeated practice. We were able to monitor the direct effect of every session on quantifiable first-aid performance using the statistical value-chain methodology, which connected training inputs to results in a manner that is rarely used in conventional programs.
Proof in Performance
This approach regularly produced first-aid performance levels of up to 90% across multiple categories.
This figure is considerably more than that of conventional training. Early results suggest that this system has the potential to become a benchmark for lifeguard education.
Conversations and Insights at WCDP 2025
The World Conference on Drowning Prevention 2025 provided a valuable forum for connecting learning research to practical realities and prevention-focused practice.
The discussions reinforced an emerging consensus in the field: maintaining lifesaving competence depends less on the volume of information delivered and more on the frequency and quality of practice opportunities.
What resonated most at the conference was not only the data itself, but the shared recognition of the underlying problem. Conversations around our poster became personal, with practitioners describing their own struggles with skill degradation and time constraints, as well as the disconnect between certification and confidence during actual emergencies.
Bonus Tip
Not Your Everyday Card
Action-cards® are cost-effective because they ensure you always have the knowledge ready when something happens.
If you forget or are unsure what to do some time after a standard first-aid course, you've lost the value of that course.
The effect of Action-cards® is enduring—see the video here:
Be ready when it counts. Equip your team with Action-cards® today.
Contact us to learn how Action-cards® can strengthen your organization’s resilience.