Rapid Emergency Skills for Prehospital Optimization and Delivery (RESPOND) for Guatemala
Official title: Rapid Emergency Skills for Prehospital Optimization, Notification, and Delivery (RESPOND-Guatemala): A comprehensive mHealth program for emergency prehospital skills and triage notification
Funded at Brigham and Women's Hospital · NIH-11599796 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A lightweight, AI-enabled prehospital training and triage program helps volunteer firefighters in Guatemala deliver faster, better care to trauma patients.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Brigham and Women's Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | September 15, 2025 |
| Project end | May 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $1,944 |
| NIH project number | 3R21TW012945-02S2 |
| Project ID | NIH-11599796 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are volunteer firefighters (bomberos) in Guatemala who respond to trauma events and lack structured prehospital training.
✕Less likely to help
Patients in settings with existing structured prehospital systems or without trauma exposure may see limited benefit.
What this research studies
This project adapts emergency prehospital training to a resource-limited setting and tests an AI-powered, gamified mHealth program for bomberos who respond to trauma events. It aims to teach essential skills, streamline triage, and improve hospital notification so patients reach the right care faster. The study will pilot these integrated components with real responders in Guatemala, using iterative feedback to refine the system. Results will inform how AI and mobile tools can support first responders in similar communities in the United States and beyond.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the program could shorten prehospital times and improve trauma outcomes for patients in rural/low-resource settings.
How similar studies have gone: Similar AI-assisted training and triage tools have shown promise in other low-resource prehospital contexts, but this specific Guatemala-US cross-learning approach is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Raykar, Nakul — Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Study coordinator: Raykar, Nakul
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.