Assessment of knowledge, readiness, and barriers hindering the performance of first aid measures in emergency situations among non-healthcare professionals of selected organizations of Udupi Taluk

BACKGROUND: A medical emergency is an unexpected event that poses a threat to one's health and safety. An individual who has received adequate first aid training is prepared to administer first aid promptly and effectively to a person in need until the arrival of medical assistance to prevent future problems that could result in disability or death. This study aims to assess the knowledge, readiness, and barriers to perform first aid measures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive survey was used to collect data from 384 non-healthcare professionals of selected organizations of Udupi Taluk with the help of a structured questionnaire from January 21, 2022 to April 13, 2022. The self-structured tool was validated with experts from the subject areas and reliability was obtained by using the Split half method (0.78) for the knowledge questionnaire, readiness scale by using Cronbach's alpha and the reliability coefficient was 0.80, and barrier checklist was accomplished by a test-retest method and reliability coefficient of 0.76. Data was organized, and frequency, percentage, and Chi-square analysis were performed using SPSS 16.0 version (IBM Corporation Business analytics software portfolio). RESULTS: The results revealed that out of 384 samples, 261 (68%) non-healthcare professionals had average first aid knowledge, and 359 (93.4%) of the samples were found to be willing to administer first aid in an emergency. The six hurdles identified to performing first aid were language 365 (95.1%), lack of information 344 (89.6%), lack of training 341 (88.8%), legal concerns 274 (71.4%), fear 230 (59.9%), and lack of confidence 68 (17.7%). CONCLUSION: The first aid knowledge among non-healthcare workers is generally average. Thus, the readiness of the non-healthcare professionals can be enhanced by improving their knowledge and reducing the barriers perceived by the non-healthcare professionals to provide first aid during a medical emergency with the help of first aid training and reading materials.