Knowledge attitude and practices of undergraduate students regarding first aid measures

Objectives: To assess knowledge, attitude and practices of first aid measures in undergraduate students of Karachi. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out at six colleges of Karachi, three of which were medical colleges and three non-medical colleges. Knowledge was assessed regarding various emergency situations with the help of a questionnaire. The target population size was 460, based on 50% prevalence and 95% confidence interval. The eventual sample size achieved was 446. Results: A total of 446 students were interviewed. Seventy eight students (17.5%) had formal First Aid (FA) training. The mean number of correct answers of students with FA training was 10.3 (± 3.5) as opposed to 8.58 (± 4.0) in those without FA training (p 0.001, 95% CI) with a mean difference of 7.84%. The mean number of correct answers by medical students with FA training was 11.2 (± 2.9) as opposed to 7.2 (± 3.43) by non-medical students (p 0.001, 95% CI) with a mean difference of 18.14%. Students having received formal first aid training scored better than those who had not (p 0.001). Conclusion: First aid training programmes should be introduced at school and college level in developing countries to decrease the early mortality and morbidity of accidents and emergencies.