First Aid Awareness among Patients Seeking Radiological Services at Nakuru Level 5 Hospital

Abstract

Background: Appropriate and timely application of First Aid measures is life saving and many clients seeking radiological services are often suffering from physical trauma besides other emergency disorders that would need such a remedy before one's arrival at hospital. Therefore, there is a need to understand the level of awareness about basic First Aid measures among patients seeking radiological services at the Nakuru Level 5 hospital in order to come up with health intervention strategies that would boost the practice of First Aid prior to receiving specific medical assistance.

Objective: The goal of the study was to determine the knowledge, attitude, and practice of First Aid among patients seeking radiological services at Nakuru Level 5 Hospital.

Method: This was a three-month cross-sectional survey involving 100 patients that sought radiological services at Nakuru Level 5 Hospital. Selection of the respondents was by purposive sampling from among patients who attended the facility during the period of study. Self-administered questionnaires aided in data collection.

Results: The majority (78%) of the respondents were males. Seventy per cent (70%) of the respondents were in the age range of 25-34 years. Majority of the respondents (65%) were single in terms of marital status. Majority of the respondents (70%) were students. Majority of the respondents (60%) learnt first aid from books and magazines. Majority of the respondents (60%) learnt first aid from books and magazines. Fifty percent of the respondents (50%) applied pressure using a clean cloth in case of fresh bleeding wounds. Fifty per cent of the respondents (50%) said that in case of a convulsing patient, safety matters first while minority 2% poured cold water on the convulsing patient. Majority of respondents (43.3%) did not practice first aid readily due to fear of taking responsibility.

 Conclusion: Although most of the respondents have heard of first aid, they do not have sufficient basic knowledge on how to practice it. Most respondents are willing to learn on how to do first aid given a chance. Religious beliefs may have an influence on practice of First Aid. Most respondents are also reluctant to practice First aid to casualties due to the fear of being held responsible incase anything untoward happened to the patient.

Recommendation: Further theory driven research approach to understand the factors that influence the adoption of first aid among residents in Nakuru County to enable healthcare providers to come up with relevant educative strategies that would enhance the adoption and practice of First Aid is advised.