March 2026, Volume 4, Issue 3

Author

Aiswarya K Venugopal, Christeen Grace, Elsa Susan Thomas, Diana Job, Denzil Saju, Emil Rose Dominic, Elainne Anna Roy and Devika Suresh

Abstract

Background: First aid refers to prompt assistance or care given to any persons with either a minor or serious illness or injury to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or promote recovery. The importance and necessity for people to be sufficiently equipped to handle crises has been brought to light by the recent rise in medical emergencies. Objective: To assess the first aid education effectiveness on high school students in Thrissur district of Kerala. Methods: We conducted an interventional study among 305 students of classes VII, IX, and X at a selected school in Thrissur district of Kerala in July 2023. To determine baseline knowledge, a pretest was conducted using self-administered predesigned structured questionnaire, after which a health education session on first aid was conducted. For assessing their post interventional knowledge acquisition, the same questionnaire was used for the post test. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 21. Paired T-test and ANOVA test were used for comparing pre-test and post-test mean scores. Results: The study observed that 97.7% of the students had heard of the term "first aid ", and only 26.5% had practical experience of administering it. Xth-standard students had greater baseline knowledge compared to the VIIth and IXth standard students. The post-test scores showed a significant difference from the pre-test scores, and maximum improvement was observed for 9th standard. Conclusion: The current study underlines the effectiveness of first aid educational intervention among high school students in Thrissur district. Effective implementation of structured first-aid education in the curriculum can ensure proper and timely response to emergency situations for students and the wider community.