Knowledge, attitudes, and practices about first aid given for childhood injuries among mothers of preschool children in Ragama MOH area, Sri Lanka

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Children under 5 are the most vulnerable group for unintentional injuries and mothers as the main prehospital caregivers it is vital to have first aid knowledge for common childhood injuries. OBJECTIVES: To assess the existing knowledge about first aid given for unintentional injuries such as burns, cut injuries, poisoning, choking, drowning & fractures and their attitudes, and practices in providing first aid and to find associated factors with knowledge. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the Ragama MOH area, in 2022. 343 mothers were recruited from 12 preschools, using the cluster sampling method. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed, data were analysed using SPSS software and associations were analysed using the Chi-Square test, (p<0.05 -significant) RESULTS: Most of the mothers were young housewives and their knowledge was overall inadequate at first aid. (54.2%) The highest median score was obtained for questions on fractures 3.732 (SD ± 1.454) and the lowest for cut injury 2.752 (SD ± 1.2187). The majority (89.5%) knew the ambulance contact number. Only 47.2% of the mothers had given first aid in an emergency and out of them 67.9% had felt tense while doing so. Most had provided first aid for burn injuries (18.7%). CONCLUSIONS: The majority of participants’ knowledge of first aid was inadequate. Most of them had a positive attitude towards first aid and were willing to learn further. The factors associated with their knowledge were education level and their perception of their own knowledge. Most preferred a hands-on training program for knowledge acquisition.