On the issue of public preparedness for first aid

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Introduction. The readiness of the population to provide first aid is a critical element in the health and safety system. In everyday life, when emergencies can occur at any time and in any place, having first aid skills can save lives. The need to provide the population with knowledge and skills related to first aid is becoming particularly relevant in modern emergency situations such as natural disasters, traffic accidents and epidemics. Given this, identifying the level of training of the population and the factors affecting it is an important task to improve the effectiveness of first aid.
The purpose of the work is to analyze the level of preparedness of the population for first aid, identify the main obstacles and offer recommendations for improving the situation.
Materials and methods of research. The work used data from a sociological survey conducted among the population of the services SuperJob.ru and V-Project service data. The questionnaire included questions about the knowledge and skills of first aid, as well as about the respondents' previous educational experience in this field. The sample from two surveys consisted of 3,033 people over the age of 18 from all districts of the country (with the exception of medical professionals). Statistical methods, including descriptive statistics and correlation analysis, were used to analyze the data obtained. [3, 4].
The results of the study. The willingness of the population to provide first aid implies that citizens have the necessary skills and knowledge. In accordance with Part 4 of Article 31 of Federal Law No. 323-FZ of November 21, 2011 "On the Basics of Public Health Protection in the Russian Federation", every citizen has the right to provide first aid if he has the appropriate training or skills. To teach the population the basics of first aid, the Russian Ministry of Health has developed an educational and methodological complex that allows to standardize the learning process and adapt it to modern requirements. In order to attract citizens to first aid training and spread this knowledge, the project "Ready for Sanitary Defense" has also been implemented in some regions of the country. In addition, Olympiads and competitions in the field of first aid and psychological support are regularly held throughout the year [1, 2].
However, despite all the activities, the results of the service's research SuperJob.ru The results of the V-Project service showed that the majority (49% of respondents) know about the rules of first aid, but only partially. Only 33% of respondents are confident in their knowledge and fully know what needs to be done, while 18% of respondents found it difficult to assess their knowledge and skills in first aid. It also turned out that 43% of the respondents had ever been interested in this topic, studied relevant materials on their own, and even wanted to enroll in a first aid course. When asked, "Have you ever been in a situation where first aid was necessary," the majority of respondents – 44% - said they had never encountered such a thing, 33% had to provide first aid at least once in their lives, and 21% had been in such situations, but someone more experienced was nearby. It was also revealed that 65% of respondents could not correctly specify the sequence of actions during cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but 95% of respondents know what to do when a person has had a stroke or is suspected of it. To the question: "Would you like to learn the rules of first aid/ undergo training within the framework of the "Ready for sanitary defense" complex?" the majority of respondents -78% answered in the affirmative.
Conclusion. The population's willingness to provide first aid requires an integrated approach that includes education, access to resources, and support from all sides. It is recommended that mandatory first aid courses be introduced into educational institutions and workplaces, as well as regular training and awareness-raising activities.

About the authors

Alina Vadimovna Vanina

Kursk State Medical University

Author for correspondence.
Email: alinaprimakova2000@yandex.ru
ORCID iD: 0009-0006-0497-359X

student

Russian Federation, 3 K. Marx St., Kursk, Kursk region, 305041, Russian Federation

Rimma Zorikovna Simonyan

Kursk State Medical University

Email: rimmasimonyan@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-6360-3229

Candidate of Medical Sciences, Associate Professor, Associate Professor of the Department of Public Health, Organization and Economics of Healthcare at the Institute of Continuing Education

Russian Federation, 3 K. Marx St., Kursk, Kursk region, 305041, Russian Federation

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