Knowledge of primary school teachers in public schools about first aid

Abstract

Within the school environment, school staff, especially teachers, are responsible for maintaining the well-being of students and supervising their activities, being the first point of contact in the event of an injury to a student. Based on the considerations made, this study aims to understand the knowledge of elementary school educators in public schools about first aid. This is a descriptive study, of a quantitative nature, conducted in eight municipal elementary schools in the city of Fortaleza-CE. Participants answered a questionnaire consisting of questions about sociodemographic characterization and knowledge in emergency cases at school, which was answered by 120 elementary school teachers. Teachers who took the first aid course at graduation and/or underwent first aid training after training, presented significant self-reported preparation, with p<0.001 with Cramer's v = 0.406 and p<0.02 and Cramer's v = 0.275, respectively. It is concluded that the majority of teachers are not theoretically prepared for situations considered potentially fatal. The teachers who presented the lowest self-reported capacity were those who did not take the first aid course during their undergraduate studies or were not trained in first aid in the school environment.