Abstract
Background: Students' knowledge about first aid is considered a lifesaving and a preventive measure from injuries. As injuries are considered a threat to school students mainly in secondary schools, therefore first aid is vital for them to be able to deal appropriately with such injuries. Aim of the study was to assess the effect of a structured training course on students 'knowledge and behavior regarding first aid in secondary schools
Methods: A quasi-experimental pre-post study design including 220 participants selected by multi-stage sampling from all five educational sectors of Makkah, students 'knowledge and behavior regarding first aid are assessed prior and after training which includes theoretical as well as practical parts.
Results: After the intervention, behavior score was improved significantly from 9.5% to 95.0% while knowledge score was improved significantly from 72.3% to 83.6%. 22.7% of the participants have received previous training. Mean knowledge and behavior score increased significantly from 69%+/- 15% to 75% +/- 15% and from 46 +/- 12 to 79% +/- 11% respectively. There was positive correlation between knowledge and behavior.
Conclusion: First Aid Courses provided by Medical School Student result in a significant improvement in overall knowledge and behavior scores of the secondary school student. Repeated courses tend to have a significant improvement.