People’s knowledge of first aid

The topic of first aid or pre-hospital care is frequently found in national and international literature. However, in most cases it is related to the knowledge, skills or training of health professionals or students and is rarely addressed to other audiences. The lay population, often neglected by academics in this field, is the one that frequently attends emergency and disaster situations and provides first aid, either out of an instinctive desire to help their neighbour or out of necessity caused by the delay in the arrival of first aid services due to bureaucratic problems and travel. The need for first aid training is also considered necessary only for health professionals, especially in emergency and urgent care services. However, recent studies emphasise the importance of teaching other people from different age groups through health education in order to reduce injuries and save lives in emergency situations that are always, or almost always, unpredictable.