Evaluation of University Undergraduate Students' Knowledge and Competency Following a First Responder's Training in...

Emergency medical services for injured patients are grossly deficient in many parts of the low- and middle-income countries, including Nigeria. This allows the initial stabilisation and transportation of the injured to be done by untrained laypersons. This study sought to evaluate the effects of first responder training among university undergraduates in Nigeria.

A 1-day first responder course was conducted for university undergraduates in Ilorin, Nigeria. Pretest and post-test were performed to measure first aid knowledge improvement and improved confidence in providing first aid care.

A total of 127 university undergraduates (56.7% female), whose median age was 21 years, completed the training. About 61% of the trainees had no previous exposure to first aid training. The mean knowledge score improved from 40.2% before the training to 66.5% after the training (P < 0.0001). The results demonstrated significant improvement in most areas of first aid knowledge assessed. The greatest increase in knowledge was observed for bleeding control. There was also an increase in the mean skill confidence score from 2.77 to 4.69 (P = 0.01).

This study has shown that basic first responder training improves students' knowledge and perceived skill confidence in the provision of first aid care. Further research is underway to assess knowledge retention and skill utilisation during follow-up.