Awareness, Knowledge of First Aid and First Emergency Behavioral Perception of Medical Students in a University in Southeastern Nigeria
Nkechi Clara Nwosu
Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Gregory University Uturu, Uturu Abia state, Nigeria and Nigerian Red Cross Society, Lagos state chapter, Nigeria.
Osah Martins Onwuka *
Department of Physiology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Gregory University Uturu, Uturu Abia state, Nigeria.
John Aja O’Brian Chukwu
Department of Physiology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Gregory University Uturu, Uturu Abia state, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Background: Students are usually exposed to all kinds of injury in schools and with inadequate health care services in most schools; administering first aid is important in such emergency situations. Hence, this study was conducted to assess the awareness, knowledge and behavioral perception of first aid among medical students of a tertiary institution in South-eastern Nigeria.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 250 medical students of Gregory University Uturu, Abia state, Nigeria. A structured pre-tested validated questionnaire assessing their awareness, knowledge and attitude was used to collect the data. Data was analyzed using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. Chi-squared test were used to test for associations between socio-demographics, knowledge and attitude of respondents. A p-value of <0.05 was considered significant.
Results: Out of the respondents, 98.4% have heard about first aid before the survey, (52.8%; n=132) have good knowledge of first aid skills, and 94% (n=235) have good attitude towards first aid. 91.2% said they are willing to help if trained while 94% of the respondents felt it was necessary to incorporate first aid in the school curriculum.
Conclusion: Although the students showed good awareness and attitude towards the concept of first aid, there is a gap in their knowledge and application of basic emergency first aid skills. There is a need to incorporate the training of basic first aid skills and basic life support skills in the school’s curriculum to bridge the gap.
Keywords: First aid, behavioral perception, knowledge, university students, emergency, medical students