Skills for life: First aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation in schools

Abstract

Objective: This review considers initiatives in various countries to include mandatory first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training in schools, key educational considerations and the supporting empirical evidence, in particular the relevance of first aid and CPR training to broader educational goals of student capability, resilience and self-efficacy. Method: Policy documents and reports from international first aid service providers (e.g. British Red Cross) were identified from websites while a parallel search of key bibliographical databases provided relevant papers on teaching first aid and CPR to school children in a range of countries. Results: Systematic reviews all show evidence to support the provision of first aid and CPR training courses and programmes in schools, with interventions effective in improving first aid knowledge and skills both post-training and in some studies up to 12 months afterwards. Important factors include ensuring the content is relevant and practical for the target group and offering an opportunity for young people to explore and discuss helping behaviour in emergency situations. Conclusion: Age-appropriate first aid and CPR instruction should be integrated into the school curriculum beginning in the primary years and developed/refreshed annually. Topics covered should include calling for help, bleeding, choking, burns, unconsciousness and resuscitation – all within the broader context of being confident and willing to help others. With the right training and support, schoolteachers can effectively deliver first aid instruction to their students. Future research should concentrate on gaps in evidence-based practice, especially measurements to demonstrate the effectiveness of first aid training, in order to advance the case for mandatory first aid education in schools.

Frequency and quality of first aid offered by older adolescents: a cluster randomised crossover trial of school-based first aid courses

“…Schools have an influential role in promoting adolescent health and wellbeing, and provide access to the majority of young people from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. Although first aid training for students is not currently mandatory in Australia, schools appear to be supportive of first aid courses for students, and first aid principles align well with Australian school curriculum goals of developing students' knowledge, skills, self-efficacy and resilience across various life domains (Wilks & Pendergast, 2017).…”

“…First aid skills may be particularly important for groups who are often exposed to illness and injury, such as children and adolescents (Wilks & Pendergast, 2017). Rates of hospital admissions for conditions such as anaphylaxis are rising, particularly in the 5-14 year age group (Mullins, Dear & Tang, 2015).…”

Peer Review #3 of "Frequency and quality of first aid offered by older adolescents: a cluster randomised crossover trial of school-based first aid courses (v0.1)"

“…Manuscript to be reviewed introducing a first aid educational pathway into the curriculum that enables students to learn ageappropriate first aid skills during each school year (De Buck et al 2015;Wilks & Pendergast 2017). A first aid educational pathway, such as the one developed by De Buck and colleagues (De Buck et al 2015) may serve many purposes, including revision of knowledge and skills from previous years alongside acquisition of new skills, improving students' confidence and competence in applying first aid, and improving teachers' confidence in teaching first aid to students of any age.…”

“…Schools have an influential role in promoting adolescent health and wellbeing, and provide access to the majority of young people from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Although first aid training for students is not currently mandatory in Australia, schools appear to be supportive of first aid courses for students, and first aid principles align well with Australian school curriculum goals of developing students' knowledge, skills, self-efficacy and resilience across various life domains (Wilks & Pendergast 2017).…”

“…First aid skills may be particularly important for groups who are often exposed to illness and injury, such as children and adolescents (Wilks & Pendergast 2017). Rates of hospital admissions for conditions such as anaphylaxis are rising, particularly in the 5-14 year age group (Mullins et al 2015).…”