Background: Increasing the number of qualified people, including school students who can play a significant role in first-aid (FA) and basic life support (BLS) arena is a public health demand. Aim: To assess the awareness of Saudi secondary school students regarding FA and BLS. Methodology: 360 male secondary school children in Taif, Saudi Arabia were surveyed. Results: The mean students' age was 17.4 ± 1.21 years. The mean participants' FA knowledge score was 64.8% ± 11%. Generally, trained students reported both better FA knowledge and skills than untrained counterparts; for 79.6% trained-compared to 53.7% untrained-students recorded such score > 70% [χ 2 (df 1) = 11.60, p < 0.001]. The younger the age was, the higher opportunity to record a high score (>70%) [62.3% <17 y vs. 49.3% ≥17 y, χ 2 (df 1) = 5.90, p = 0.02] was. Trained students better deal with critical cases, bleeding and bodily injury compared to untrained peers [89.8% vs. 55.9%, χ 2 (df 1) = 20.3, p < 0.001; 83.7% vs. 58.2%, χ 2 (df 1) = 11.62, p = 0.04; 81.6% vs. 67.2%, χ 2 (df 1) = 4.13, p = 0.04, respectively]. Only 37.2% of schools had FA incorporated in the education curriculum. Eventually, FA training and the presence of FA group were significant predictors for improved FA knowledge among students [odds ratio (OR) 3.35, 95% CI 1.60 -7.06; OR 2.28, 95% CI 1.34 -3.95, respectively). Conclusions: First-aid training is crucial to enhance school children's FA skills and to thrust their contribution to health emergency control efforts. Incorporating FA training within the educational curriculum of Saudi schools is a step forward to disseminate FA message in the community.

Background: Accidents pose a serious threat to health and economy in Egypt. Objectives: To identify and analyze the epidemiological factors associated with different types of accidents among adult males in Upper Egypt. Methods: A sample of 500 Egyptian males 20-28 years of age attending for health care at Quena University Hospital (QUH) or affiliated health institutions in South Egyptian governorates of Luxor and Red Sea was studied. The demographic, socioeconomic, and habitual data, as well as health status, medical history, and history of engagement into accidents for the recruits all were evaluated. Results: Accidents occurrences accounted up to 23/500 (4.6%) of the studied group. Road traffic accidents (RTAs) represented the highest percentage (30.4%), followed by street fights (21.7%) and animal bites (13.1%). Occupational accidents, electrical injuries, and near-drowning, all were equally encountered (8.7%), whereas falls and burns were least prevalent (4.3% each). Drug abuse, manual work, obesity, and having epilepsy were significant risk factors for accident injuries (

Physical inactivity is generally accepted as one of the most serious health risk behaviors of young adults contributing to poorer health outcome. This study aimed at determining the impacts of behavioral and medical problems on physical activity (PA) among the Egyptian youth. In this study, 500 Egyptian men aged 18-30 years old attending for medical examination in Qena University Outpatient department between March 2013 and March 2014 were surveyed; risk factors for physical inactivity were analyzed. Significantly, 58.0% of smokers demonstrated the tendency to physical inactivity; only 0.8% did vigorous PA [X(df = 2) = 15.53, p < 0.001]. Most of those with history of drug abuse and all alcoholics reported low PA tendency [X 2 (df = 2) = 13.96, p < 0.001, Fisher's exact = 6.3, p = 0.045, respectively]. As much as 87.1% of the obese had mild PA, too [X 2 (df = 2) = 16.62, p < 0.001]. Heart disease was also associated with a tendency of physical inactivity [X 2 (df = 2) = 15.6, p < 0.001]. Most anemics (68.9%) reported mild PA and 31% of them reported having moderate PA [X 2 (df = 2) = 8.22, p = 0.027]. Both, hepatitis B virus (HBV)-and hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infection, and diabetes mellitus (DM) were not risk for physical inactivity. The present work provides that PA diminishes with some chronic illnesses and behavioral derangements, e.g., drug abuse and smoking. Interestingly, HBV, HCV infections and DM are not among risks for physical inactivity.

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