Which framework item guides the order of assessing airway, breathing, and circulation in prioritization?

• A. ABCs (Airway, Breathing, Circulation) framework
• B. START triage
• C. Maslow's hierarchy
• D. ABCD framework

Answer: (A)

The main idea is the order you use to address life-threatening problems in emergencies: airway first, then breathing, then circulation. This is what the ABCs approach teaches. Why this order works is simple: if the airway is blocked or not open, nothing else matters because oxygen cannot reach the lungs in the first place. Clearing and maintaining a patent airway is the first step. Once the airway is open, you check breathing. If breathing isn’t adequate, you provide support to ensure oxygen gets delivered to the lungs and into the blood. Only after you’ve secured airway and breathing do you turn to circulation, making sure there’s enough blood flow to perfuse vital organs and addressing problems like bleeding or shock.

In other contexts, other options don’t define this rapid, life-saving sequence. START triage focuses on quickly sorting many patients by urgency rather than the step-by-step assessment order. Maslow’s hierarchy is a psychology model about human needs, not emergency assessment. The ABCD framework can appear in different settings, but the classic order that prioritizes airway, breathing, then circulation is the ABCs.