KAP related to first aid among first-year ethnic minority students: a cross-sectional study using latent profile...

First aid-related knowledge, attitudes, and self-reported practices are important components of emergency preparedness among university students. However, evidence on first aid-related KAP patterns among ethnic minority freshmen in China remains limited. This study aimed to assess first aid-related knowledge, attitudes, and self-reported practices, identify latent profiles, and examine factors associated with profile membership among ethnic minority freshmen at a medical university in Guizhou Province, China.

A university-based cross-sectional study was conducted in September 2025 among first-year students at a medical university in Guizhou Province, China, prior to the implementation of a first-aid education program. During compulsory military training, questionnaires were administered to all first-year students through administrative training units. Ethnic minority participants were identified post hoc based on self-reported demographic information. After exclusion of invalid responses according to predefined quality criteria, 805 valid questionnaires from ethnic minority freshmen were included in the final analysis. A first aid-related knowledge, attitude, and practice questionnaire was used. Knowledge scores were rescaled to a 1-5 metric, while attitude and practice scores were calculated as mean item scores. Latent profile analysis was applied to identify unobserved subgroups with distinct KAP patterns. Associations between profile membership and potential predictors were examined using univariable and multivariable binary logistic regression models.

Two latent profiles were identified: a high-attitude/high-practice profile (18.6%) and a low-attitude/low-practice profile (81.4%). Transformed knowledge scores differed only slightly between profiles, whereas attitudes and self-reported practices showed clearer differences. In the multivariable model, previous non-avoidance of providing first aid, attending first-aid training three or more times, and certificate- or credit-related training willingness were associated with membership in the high-attitude/high-practice profile.

Substantial heterogeneity was observed in first aid-related attitudes and self-reported practices among ethnic minority freshmen, with most students classified into the low-attitude/low-practice profile. Previous non-avoidance of providing first aid, attending first-aid training three or more times, and certificate- or credit-related training willingness were associated with membership in the high-attitude/high-practice profile. The findings suggest that university first-aid education should move beyond knowledge transmission and place greater emphasis on repeated, scenario-based, and practice-oriented training. Because actual first-aid competence was not objectively assessed, these findings should be interpreted as reflecting differences in first aid-related attitudes and self-reported practices rather than actual emergency response capability.