Objective:
Childhood injuries are the leading cause of death for children in the preschool and school age in world. The purpose of this study is to determine of the level of knowledge of first aid and basic life support of the educators working in preschools in Afyonkarahisar region by using a written questionnaire.
Methods:
Study was conducted in Afyonkarahisar providence on preschool teachers working in school district in May 2005. The written questionnaire was formed with 34 questions. These multiple choice questions, varied from demographic to first aid and basic life support, aimed on testing the knowledge of the employees on related topics.
Results:
All 118 participants answered the questionnaire. The mean age of the sample population was 27.7±/9.1 years and 111 (94.1%) participitants was female. 61.9% of participants stated that they have previously taken the first aid education with 54.2% of mentioning that it was theoretical one. Besides, 84.7% of participants felt being inadequate in first aid and 85.6% of them made inquiry to have the first aid education. The mean score of achievement for the participants in first aid and basic life support is found to be 48.9.
Conclusion:
Although the educators of preschool in the study have inadequate knowledge on the first aid and basic life support providing, they are interested in getting proper training. We think that especially as the preschool education is wide spreading in our country, people participating in this field should have urgent, true and repetitive training on the first aid providing.
Keywords: First Aid, Preschool, Children, Basic Life Support