First aid facilities in the school settings: Are schools able to manage adequately?

Chronic diseases and illness in schools: Teachers' confidence in helping students with intellectual disabilities

Background

With movement to educate students with intellectual disabilities in special and mainstream schools, a considerable number of students with intellectual disabilities have common chronic diseases such as epilepsy and diabetes. In addition, these students may also face common illnesses, which occur in all students, such as fevers and headaches. Teachers are responsible for their students and provide first aid when needed. Therefore, this study aimed to determine whether teachers are confident in their ability to provide help when symptoms related to chronic diseases and illnesses occur.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study, questionnaires were sent to 300 male and female teachers of students with intellectual disabilities in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Results

The findings illustrate that, in general, teachers have little confidence in helping students with chronic diseases and illnesses. Although the teachers felt that they were less confident in dealing with some symptoms of illnesses and chronic diseases, there were some symptoms that they showed either strong or low confidence in dealing with.

Conclusion

The recommendations include increasing teachers' confidence in providing first aid.

Pediatric first aid, trauma knowledge, and attitude among parents and general population in Aseer region, Southern Saudi Arabia

Objectives:

Around the world, accidents and injuries are the leading causes of death among children. Because mothers and family members commonly administer first aid at home and at preschools, it’s critical to learn what parents and the public think about children’s mishaps. Our objective was to assess parents’ knowledge and attitude toward pediatric first aid in the Aseer region of Saudi Arabia.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Aseer region of Saudi Arabia to assess the parents’ level of knowledge and attitude about pediatric first aid and trauma with an electronic- and paper-based multiple-choice self-administered questionnaire covering different medical emergencies. The Arabic and English versions of the questionnaire were made from the information obtained from the first aid educational content of the Saudi Ministry of Health.

Results:

When the participants were asked about their knowledge of pediatric first aid, arranged in descending order from most answers, 37% (n = 135) answered it was good, 30% (n = 111) answered that it was very good, 20% (n = 74) answered that it was not enough, and 13% (n = 47) answered that it was excellent. Results of the multiple linear regression analysis showed the knowledge score to be significantly higher among participants who had higher education levels (t = 2.039, p < 0.001), who had received first aid training before (t = 2.786, p = 0.0001), those who were already healthcare providers (t = 4.336, p < 0.001), those who were from rural districts (t = 2.5, p = 0.355), and younger personnel (t = 0.821, p = 0.345) The difference was not statistically significant.

Conclusion:

Although this study shows that the level of first aid knowledge among personnel who care for children was low, it also shows that they are interested in obtaining proper training.

Assessment of school health services in primary schools in Gwagwalada area council, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria

INTRODUCTION

School Health Service (SHS) is one of the five main components of the School Health Programme aimed at ensuring every child remains healthy to benefit maximally from his/her education. This study aimed to assess the level of implementation of SHS in primary schools in the Gwagwalada Area Council of the Nigerian Federal Capital Territory.

METHODS

a cross-sectional study was carried out in primary schools in Gwagwalada Area Council using a weighted School Health Service assessment checklist.

RESULTS

a total of 146 primary schools were studied. Ninety-five (65.1%) of the schools had no health personnel. First aid was offered by 129 (88.4%) of the schools for medical emergencies. All schools sent children with communicable diseases home. None of the public schools assessed had an ambulance or a sickbay. A total of 44 (30.1%) schools, made up of 8 (20.0%) public and 36 (34.0%) private schools, attained the acceptable minimum score of 19. The mean scores on school health services by the private and public schools were 16.31±3.96 SD and 16.23±2.87 SD respectively out of the attainable maximum score of 45 (t=0.145, p=0.885).

CONCLUSION

the level of implementation of SHS in Gwagwalada Area Council is inadequate though with a slightly better situation in the private schools. For more effective SHSs in the study area, there is the need for the provision of sufficient human resources and facilities by stakeholders in Gwagwalada Area Council primary schools.

Stop the Bleed: The Impact of a Basic Bleeding Control Course on High School Personnel’s Perceptions of Self-Efficacy and School Preparedness

Background: Uncontrolled bleeding is the leading cause of preventable death from trauma. The Stop the Bleed (STB) initiative provides basic education about bleeding to potential immediate responders. The present study aimed to assess the perceptions of self-efficacy and school preparedness related to responding to a life-threatening bleeding emergency in school personnel at an urban high school. Methods: High school personnel from an urban high school ( N = 156) completed a 1-hour STB course that included a didactic and hands-on component. Participants rated their agreement with statements about self-efficacy and school preparedness on a 5-point Likert-type scale, responded to items regarding how school personnel could be better prepared for life-threatening emergencies, and had the option to provide written responses pre- and post-course. Findings: Independent samples t tests revealed that perceptions of self-efficacy and school preparedness increased after the course ( p < .001). Before the course, 87% of participants felt they needed training, 80% felt the school needed clearer procedures, and 74% felt the school required more equipment for a life-threatening bleeding incident compared with 63%, 69%, and 78% post-course, respectively. Thematic analysis of written responses revealed that participants desired higher frequencies of STB training, more equipment, clearer school procedures, and realistic training scenarios with students. Conclusions/Application to Practice: The STB course increased both perceptions of self-efficacy and school preparedness in a sample of high school personnel. Qualitative analyses provided insight to personnel’s opinion of STB’s effectiveness and what is necessary to maintain or follow through with this knowledge after completion of the course.