Abstract
In the event of an emergency, the timely and appropriate first-aid operations provided by non-medical personnel at the scene of accident before the arrival of medical professionals are crucial to help minimize the frequency in accidental induced deaths and injuries. Thus, it is essential to provide the effective first-aid training to the public. College students are considered to be the ideal candidates due to their excellent learning ability, maturity as well as the strong adaptability. Not as in most advanced countries, little education on the first aid is currently offered in Chinese universities especially those non-medical institutes. To determine the feasibility of introducing the first-aid education into the school curriculum, here we reported the study on the efficacy of the one-day first-aid training at Wenzhou-Kean University (WKU), an American-Chinese joint education institute. The general survey was initially conducted among all the freshman (n = 620) students at WKU to identify their interests as well as demand for the first-aid education. Along with the one-day first aid workshop which included both the lecture and the operation sessions, the pre-post study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of the workshop. The first-aid knowledge and skills as well as social awareness were judged before and after the training among the participants (Pre: n = 95; Post: n = 85). Results demonstrated that more than 95% of students appreciate the importance of first-aid training in universities indicating an extremely high demand. More than 40% students prefer to have the first-aid education as part of their curriculum. It also revealed that students lack professional knowledge towards the key first-aid skills such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The pre-post efficacy study suggested that participants’ knowledge as well as skills have been significantly improved after the workshop. The correctness rate of objective questions for CPR was raised from 68.4% to almost 100%; For Heimlich method, the accuracy rate was elevated about 2.4 fold. We also surveyed the social awareness among the participants. The ratio of people who are willing to take a leading role in emergency rescue at the accidental site with the absence of medical professionals increased from 11.5% to 23.2%. To conclude, our study indicates that the one-day first-aid workshop not only significantly improved students’ skills and knowledge, but also raised their social awareness. Therefore, there is an urgent need to implement first-aid education into the curriculum of WKU and other Chinese Universities.
Highlights
Accidents usually take place unexpectedly and sometimes even pose a threat to people’s life safety
To determine the feasibility of introducing the first-aid education into the school curriculum, here we reported the study on the efficacy of the one-day first-aid training at Wenzhou-Kean University (WKU), an American-Chinese joint education institute
If people present on the site of accidents have the first-aid knowledge and skills, they will respond to the emergency appropriately in time which is critical to save lives especially when the non-medical professionals are absent [1]
Summary
Accidents usually take place unexpectedly and sometimes even pose a threat to people’s life safety. If people present on the site of accidents have the first-aid knowledge and skills, they will respond to the emergency appropriately in time which is critical to save lives especially when the non-medical professionals are absent [1]. It has been reported that cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) performed by bystanders could double or triple the survival rate of the witnessed cardiac arrest accidents [2]. It has been revealed that people who obtained first aid training usually have more confidence and willingness to perform CPR on strangers than those whom do not have such skills [4]. Providing professional first aid training to the public is necessary to reduce the degree of harmfulness caused by accidents and to raise the social awareness and responsibility in the society
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
