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Video-assisted first aid enables trained 6-8-year-old children to help an unconscious adult: A quasy-experimental
Viktória Mohácsi1, Henrietta Bánfai-Csonka1, József Betlehem1
1University of Pécs Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Emergency Care, Pedagogy of Health and Nursing Sciences, 7621 Pécs, Vörösmarty street 4., Hungary.
Insights
Six to eight-year-old children can learn to perform first aid on an unconscious adult when trained and supported by video guidance. Digital assistance alone was not enough, highlighting the need for structured early first aid education.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric emergency medicine
- Childhood first aid education
- Systems Saving Lives framework
Background:
- Early first aid is crucial, with Kids Save Lives and dispatcher guidance as key components.
- Effectiveness of these interventions in young children, beyond cardiac arrest, requires further study.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess if 6-8-year-old children, in pairs, can recognize an unconscious adult and provide first aid.
- To evaluate the impact of structured education and/or video-assisted dispatcher guidance on children's first aid performance.
Main Methods:
- A quasi-experimental simulation study involved 110 first-grade children (6-8 years old).
- Participants were divided into three groups: training + video-guidance, video-guidance only, or no training.
- Performance was assessed using a nine-step checklist for recognizing unresponsiveness and managing the recovery position.
Main Results:
- Children receiving both training and video assistance showed significantly higher task accuracy (7.5 vs. 4.6 vs. 0.5) and full task success (61.1% vs. 10.5% vs. 0%).
- The combined group also had a shorter completion time (229.5s vs. 394.1s).
- Video guidance alone was insufficient for effective first aid initiation.
Conclusions:
- Pairs of 6-8-year-old children can successfully recognize an unconscious adult and initiate first aid with combined training and video guidance.
- Structured early first aid education is essential and cannot be fully replaced by digital assistance.
- Video-guided dispatcher support can augment, but not substitute, foundational first aid training for young children.
Purpose:
Early first aid interventions are key elements of the Systems Saving Lives framework, with two major pillars being Kids Save Lives and dispatcher-assisted guidance. Both strategies remain understudied in very young children, particularly in situations other than cardiac arrest. This study aimed to evaluate whether 6-8-year-old children, working in pairs, can recognize an unconscious adult and initiate appropriate first aid when supported by structured education and/or real-time video-assisted dispatcher guidance.
Methods:
We conducted a quasi-experimental simulation study involving 110 first-grade children (aged 6-8 years) from two Hungarian schools. Participants were allocated to: (1) structured first aid training plus video-guidance, (2) video-guidance only, or (3) no preparatory training. During simulations, each pair encountered an adult actor simulating collapse and, where applicable, received video guidance from a trained dispatcher. Performance was evaluated using a nine-step checklist based on international guidelines, assessing recognition of unresponsiveness and management of the recovery position.
Results:
Children who received both training and video assistance performed significantly better in task accuracy (mean score 7.5 vs. 4.6 vs. 0.5; all p < 0.001), completion time (229.5 vs. 394.1 s; p = 0.002), and full task success (61.1 % vs. 10.5 % vs. 0 %) compared with the video-guidance only and the no training groups.
Conclusion:
In this simulation setting, 6-8-year-old children working in pairs could recognize an unconscious adult and initiate first aid when supported by prior training combined with video guidance. Digital assistance alone was insufficient, suggesting that video-guided dispatcher support can enhance - but not replace - structured early first aid education.
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