Safety First: Awareness and attitude regarding first aid among college students - A Cross-sectional study in Urban Bangalore

INTRODUCTION: First aid training is an important community survival skill necessary for all individuals as injuries and accidents have become the major epidemic of noncommunicable disease in India. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to assess the awareness and attitude regarding first aid among the college students in Urban Bangalore. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was done in a private general degree college in Urban Bangalore. This tool included questions on awareness of first aid measures for various situations as well as questions to capture the attitude of students toward learning first aid. RESULTS: Of the total 370 students, the mean age was 18.42 (standard deviation [SD]: 1.23) years with equal number of boys and girls. The mean knowledge score was 7.86 (SD: 2.17) and was significantly correlated with age (Pearson correlation coefficient: 0.149). Only 192 (52%) had attended a lecture related to first aid before, and 48 (13%) had been shown how to perform first aid. About 188 (51%) reported learning about first aid by reading newspapers or magazines. The mean attitude score was 7.95 (SD: 1.67) which shows a general positive attitude toward learning first aid. CONCLUSION: Even though they have good attitude and perceptions toward learning first aid, there are not enough opportunities for them to learn about first aid. Teaching the students about first aid and training them on basic first aid skills will go a great way in making first responders available at all places.