Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of First Aid among Non-medical Students of Karachi University

Objective: To assess knowledge, attitude and practices regarding commonly encountered first aid scenarios among non-medical undergraduate students of Karachi University (KU). Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in KU. Institutional Review Board approval was taken from Jinnah Sindh Medical University. At KU, permission was taken from concerned authorities for data collection, sample comprised of 386 students. Students were selected on convenience and availability from various departments of Arts, Business, Social Sciences, Islamic Studies and Pharmacy. Written consent was obtained from the students. Data was analyzed on SPSS 20. Results: Out of 386 participants, the majority of students (67.1%) were willing to attend sessions on first aid. Those who had correct knowledge were more willing to attend the sessions (p<0.001), but were found to be reluctant in providing first aid to victims (p<0.042). Significant difference in frequency of self-assume knowledge among actual knowledge groups was only found for management of boiling water (p=0.021). Majority of the participants with self-assumption of correct knowledge (n= 210, 65.2%) had no accurate knowledge for providing first aid management of burns with boiling water. Conclusion: Knowledge regarding commonly encountered first aid incidents among KU students was found to be low. However, they showed interest in acquiring this knowledge. It is suggested that first aid training programs should be made part of academic curriculum of schools, colleges and universities and overall awareness regarding its acquisition should be spread among communities.