The Knowledge of and Attitudes Toward First Aid and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Among Parents

Purpose: To determine the level of knowledge of first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) among the parents of children who attended our Pediatric Emergency Department and to identify the factors that affect this knowledge. Design and Methods: Descriptive, transversal study. A questionnairewas distributed anonymously among parents to collect data about their previous CPR training, knowledge and experience. Results: A total 405 valid questionnaireswere returned. The mean age of the samplewas 38.08 (SD 7.1) years, and 66.9% of participants were female. The mean score of correctly answered questions was 6.76 out of 19 questions. Parentswith a university education received a mean score of 7.16 versus 6.24 for thosewith a primary education (p=0.022). Parents with previous training received a higher mean score (8.04 vs 6.17, respectively, p < 0.01). Parents with jobs related to healthcare or education received a highermean score compared to thosewho did not (8.63, p < 0.01 and 7.16, p=0.0013, respectively). No significant differences among parentswith chronically ill children p=0.76) or related to the number of children (p = -0.101) were observed. Furthermore, 77.3% of parents expressed an interest in receiving further training. Conclusions: Knowledge of first aid among the general population is lacking. Parentswith previous training in this field, those with a university-level education, and those who are healthcare providers and educational professionals received significantly higher scores. Practic Implications: Studies based on surveys can be useful in estimating a population's knowledge base, allowing the development of community-based training activities. (c) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.