EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF FIRST AID TRAINING IN SHOPPING CENTER EMPLOYEES

Abstract

Introduction: Cardiopulmonary arrest is on of the most important causes requiring first aid in big metropolis. Cardiac
arrest may be often seen in airports, shopping centers (SC), prisons, sports facilities, industrial zones, public transport
stations and nursing homes. In this study, we aimed to evaluate effectiveness of training by measuring knowledge level of
SC employees before and after first aid training, and to create awareness for the presence and use of automatic external
defibrillator.
Material & Methods: Employees of a shopping center were trained for first aid on voluntary basis in Sisli Hamidiye Etfal
Training & Research Hospital, Emergency Medicine Clinic between 01.01.2015 and 31.06.2015. A total of 332 volunteer
shopping center employees were included in the study. Pretest and posttest questions and first aid training were organized
based on AHA 2010 guidelines.
Results: The mean age of participants was 33.8±8.0 years and 233 (70.2%) of them were male. Of participants 74.4%
were working for less than one year, 83.1% were cleaning staff and security guard, and 42.8% were high school graduated.
It was found that post-training correct answer rate was found to be statistically significantly increased in all test questions.
There was a weak negative correlation before the training, and a strong negative correlation after the training between total
test score and age. In addition, educational status of the participants was correlated with both pre- and post-training total test
score with both pre- and post-training total scores were increased with educational level.
Conclusion: First aid training is important in crowded places such as shopping centers where cardiac arrest is likely to
be encountered. Therefore, training employees for first aid could provide correct emergency first response.