Abstract
BackgroundUnintentional injuries are a major cause of death among children. Data suggest that the retention of knowledge and skills about first aid declined over time. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of pediatric first aid training among teachers.MethodsA stratified random sampling method was used to select 1,067 teachers. The selected trainees received pediatric first aid training. Follow-up assessments were conducted 6 months, 9 months and 4 years following the training. A standardized collection of demographics was performed, and participants were given a questionnaire to indicate knowledge of and emotions about first aid.ResultsIn the pretest, 1067 people responded with a mean of 21.0 correct answers to 37 questions, whereas in the post-test period, the mean score increased to 32.2 correct answers of 37 questions (P <0.001). There was a decrease in scores from post-test to 6 months, 9 months and 4 years after the training. However, the mean at the 6-month, 9-month and 4-year marks were higher than the pretest mean (P < 0.001). A total of 82.8% of the participants achieved a pass mark of 80% or above; 42.8% of participants achieved the pass mark at 6 months, 41.7% at 9 months and 11.7% at 4 years (compared with pre-test, P < 0.001). The mean score of the subjects’ emotions in the post-test period increased to 81 (P < 0.001). The mean scores of emotions at 9 months or 4 years were higher than the pretest mean (P < 0.001). At the 4-year mark, the majority of preschool staff (>70%) had administered correct first aid for injuries.ConclusionsThis study demonstrated that the acquisition of knowledge, both short and long term, significantly improves. Despite appreciable decreases in knowledge long term, knowledge retention was modest but stable.
Highlights
Unintentional injuries are a major cause of death among children
It is vital that preschool teachers be provided with first-aid knowledge and practical training [9], and teaching basic first aid should be compulsory in schools [10]
Correct responses regarding first-aid for choking, a coughing child (41.2%) and bites to the tongue (42.9%) were low. This is the first study to evaluate the impact of pediatric first aid training on caregivers and teachers (PedFACTs) and long term knowledge retention after PedFACTs
Summary
Unintentional injuries are a major cause of death among children. Data suggest that the retention of knowledge and skills about first aid declined over time. In the United States, injuries are the leading cause of death, disabilities, and health care utilization for children [2]. The program is aimed at equipping teachers with the appropriate first aid knowledge and skills to better care for the children. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of the PedFACTs in equipping teachers with appropriate first aid knowledge so that they can skillfully care for the children. While several studies have investigated the retention of knowledge and skills about first aid [12,13], a decline in resuscitation knowledge over time has been shown in many reports [14,15,16], and there is limited research evaluating these issues in PedFACTs. In addition to the assessment of first aid knowledge, evaluation of attitudes and behavior for first aid provision is very important. A further aim, was to establish to what extent knowledge levels and emotions are retained 6 months, 9 months and 4 years after the PedFACTs
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