Anesthesia & Clinical Research
Open Access
ISSN: 2155-6148
ISSN: 2155-6148
Ahmad Osama Saqer
University of Sharjah College of Medicine, UAE
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Anesth Clin Res
Background: Our modern society is increasingly exposed to factors which put individuals in potentially dangerous situations. Injury is an important cause of mortality and morbidity. In the past 15 years, it is the second most common cause of death in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), accounting for more than 1200 deaths annually. This number can be significantly reduced through First aid (FA) education and training. There are few published reports assessing the general populationâ??s knowledge about FA in the Middle East. The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge and attitude towards first aid in the UAE. Method: Self-administered questionnaires were distributed through a non-probability sampling method over 500 residents across the UAE, aged at least 30 years old. Data collection was conducted between July 20, 2017 and September 20, 2017. Participantâ??s numbers from each city was proportionate to the population size according to the latest available census. Result: More than half of the population (54.2%) were not sufficiently knowledgeable about basic FA. Only 33.8% took a FA course. Age of the participants, higher education and taking FA courses significantly increased knowledge about basic FA information. 83.7% of the population showed positive attitudes towards FA and were willing to take a FA course in the future. Conclusion: The public need to be more educated about FA and how to manage life-threatening situations. Community-based interventions are vital and must be implemented. A low percentage of individuals have taken FA courses due to the fact that those courses are taken voluntarily by individuals. Our study found a large gap of knowledge among individuals who have not taken a FA course with regards to dealing with life threatening situations. This proves the importance of mandating FA courses to individuals in the community.
Ahmad Saqer has graduated from the University of Sharjah in 2018. He is currently working as a medical intern in Al-Ain Hospital. He has published two papers in reputed journals and has several others currently under review.
E-mail: ahmadosama95@hotmail.com