Knowledge and attitude of paediatric first aid among elementary schoolteachers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

INTRODUCTION: Children at schools are at risk of getting injuries during their activities. In the absence of medical support and delays in ambulance arrival, teachers are the first responders to provide first aid when accidents occur. There is a lack of information about schoolteachers’ awareness and knowledge about first aid administration. This study aimed to assess the current level of knowledge and attitude toward paediatric first aid among elementary schoolteachers in Jeddah of Saudi Arabia. METHODOLOGY: This is a cross-sectional study. An online questionnaire-based survey was administered to teachers in primary male schools in the Jeddah region. Statistical analysis was performed using JMP software, continuous variables were presented as mean and standard deviation (SD), data for categorical variables were presented as frequencies and percentages and statistical tests ANOVA and Chi Square were also used. The P values <0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: A total of 221 male schoolteachers were interviewed online in our study. Most of the research participants were aged between 26 and 50 years and most had a bachelor’s degree as the highest education (81.9%). In addition, half of the participants, that is, 50.2%, had between 20 years and 30 years of experience in teaching. Almost all the teachers (99.5%) heard about first aid with more than half (57%) attending training in first aid. The source of information for almost half of them (48%) came from social media and most of them (85%) agree that there is a need for first aid education. CONCLUSION: Our findings reveal that schoolteachers know about the importance of first aid but lack the training and skills to administer first aid before the ambulance arrives. Therefore, there is an urgent need for proper first aid training for teachers and support staff to prepare them to deal with all the emergencies that most frequently arise at children’s schools.