Knowledge of stop the bleed techniques- a national survey

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Public Health
• Trauma Care

Background:

• Hemorrhage control is a critical skill in emergency medicine.
• The American College of Surgeons Stop the Bleed® (STB) course aims to educate the public on bleeding control techniques.
• Assessing knowledge retention from the STB course is vital for evaluating its effectiveness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a dataset of survey responses from US adults regarding their knowledge of the Stop the Bleed® course.
• To identify factors influencing knowledge retention of hemorrhage control techniques.

Main Methods:

• A web-based survey was administered to 200 US adults aged 16 years and above.
• The survey included a quiz to assess knowledge of the Stop the Bleed® (STB) course content.
• Statistical analysis was performed to identify correlations between demographic/educational factors and STB knowledge.

Main Results:

• Factors such as age, sex, race, and education level up to college did not show a statistically significant correlation with STB knowledge retention.
• Resuscitation coursework (p=0.004) and income (p=0.049) were significant determinants of STB knowledge.
• Participants with CPR certification and/or a postgraduate degree demonstrated higher STB knowledge scores.

Conclusions:

• While basic demographics did not predict knowledge, higher income and specific coursework are linked to better retention of Stop the Bleed® knowledge.
• The findings suggest that targeted educational interventions or socioeconomic factors may play a role in effective hemorrhage control education.
• Further research can explore the impact of these determinants on real-world application of STB skills.