Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of first aid and factors associated with practice among taxi drivers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Background: Globally, there are small proportions of drivers with first aid skills and even those trained do not practice it well. In Africa, the proportions of drivers with first aid skills were found to be much smaller. Evidences show that widespread first-aid training is important for successful pre-hospital care when accident occurs. However; most drivers are lacking such lifesaving skills. The present study aims to assess the level of first aid knowledge, attitude and practice and factors associated with practice among taxi drivers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2015. Method: Cross-sectional study design with stratified cluster sampling technique was employed to select the study unit. Addis Ababa was stratified by five taxi zoning areas, each zone with its own number of routes. Tor-Hailoch has 24, Asko 42, Megenagna 38, Bole 31 and Saris 31 routes. Participants operating in the selected routes were selected and interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive analysis was done to determine the level of first-aid knowledge, attitude and practice. Multivariable logistic regressions analysis was used to determine the relationship between predictors and practice of first aid and the corresponding p-value of < 0.05 considered statistically significant. Result: A total of 785 taxi drivers representing 4.7% of all taxi drivers (16,600) operating in Addis Ababa city were enrolled. About half (50.3%) of respondents had first aid knowledge more than 80% had appropriate attitude towards first aid, and only 44.3% assisted a car accident victim in the past one year. Those drivers who had first aid training (AOR=5.02, 95% CI: 2.81, 8.98, p<0.001), adequate knowledge (AOR=5.50, 95% CI: 3.13, 9.66, p<0.001) and first aid kit in their vehicles (AOR=5.20, 95%: 2.67, 10.03, p<0.001) were 5 times more likely to providing first aid to victims who sustained injuries than those drivers who did not have first aid training, inadequate first aid knowledge, and did not have first aid kit in their taxies respectively. Conclusions: Although there was a favorable attitude observed, the levels of knowledge as well as practice of first aid found to be inadequate. The findings call for compulsory first aid training before a driving license is granted.