Knowledge and attitude toward first aid: A cross-sectional study in the United Arab Emirates

Injury is an important cause of mortality and morbidity. It is the second most common cause of death in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the last 15 years, claiming more than 1200 lives annually. Those numbers can be significantly reduced through first aid (FA) education and training. The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge and attitude toward FA in the UAE.

Self-administered questionnaires were distributed through nonprobability sampling method to more than 500 residents across the UAE, aged at least 30 years. Data collection was conducted between July 20, 2017, and September 20, 2017. The number of participants from each city was proportionate to the population size according to the latest available census.

More than half of the population (54.2%) were not sufficiently knowledgeable about basic FA. Only 33.8% took an FA course. Age of the participants, higher education, and taking FA courses significantly increased the knowledge about basic FA information. Most of the population showed positive attitude toward FA and were willing to take an FA course in the future.

The knowledge about FA in the UAE population is limited. FA courses must be made more accessible for the population and updated at frequent intervals. More emphasis should be given to basic FA information.