(1) Background: Remote communities in Canada lack an equitable emergency medical\nresponse capacity compared to other communities. Community-based emergency care (CBEC)\ntraining for laypeople is a model that has the potential to enhance the medical emergency response\ncapacity in isolated and resource-limited contexts. The purpose of this study was to understand\nthe characteristics of medical emergencies and to conceptualize and present a framework for what\na medical emergency is for one remote Indigenous community in northwestern Ontario, in order\nto inform the development of CBEC training. (2) Methods: This study adhered to the principles of\ncommunity-based participatory research and realist evaluation; it was an integrated component of the\nformative evaluation of the second Sachigo LakeWilderness Emergency Response Education Initiative\n(SLWEREI) training course in 2012. Twelve members of Sachigo Lake First Nation participated in\nthe training course, along with local nursing staff, police officers, community Elders, and course\ninstructors (n = 24 total), who participated in interviews, focus groups, and a collaborative discussion\nof local health issues in the development of the SLWEREI. (3) Results: The qualitative results are\norganized into sections that describe the types of local health emergencies and the informal response\nsystem of community members in addressing these emergencies. Prominent themes of health\nadversity that emerged were an inability to manage chronic conditions and fears of exacerbations,\nthe lack of capacity for addressing mental illness, and the high prevalence of injury for community\nmembers. (4) Discussion: A three-point framework of what constitutes local perceptions of an\nemergency emerged from the findings in this study: (1) a sense of isolation; (2) a condition with a\npotentially adverse outcome; and (3) a need for help.
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