[Assessment of knowledge about first aid among the teachers of chosen high schools in the Western Pomerania region].

Introduction: Increasing susceptibility to trauma among Polish society, which concerns school pupils as well, requires defining causes of the problem and establishing directions of activity in order to reduce the frequency of trauma and its unfavorable consequences. Investigation of a level of knowledge and an attitude of teachers of chosen secondary schools towards giving the first aid in the West Pomeranian voivodeship.

Material And Methods: The survey was carried out among 100 teachers from two high schools of which one is situated in a city of Szczecin (50) and the other in a smaller town of Gryfice (50). A standardized questionnaire, which was previously applied to investigate a problem of giving the first aid among Polish society, was used as a diagnostic tool.

Results: Although majority of respondents took part in first aid courses while acquiring different ranks and qualifications, the survey has confirmed that the level of knowledge about giving the first aid is insufficient. The half of respondents know rules of giving first aid, and one third declares that can put these rules into the practice. A large part of respondents demonstrates rather passive attitude towards giving the first aid in case of emergency. There are no major differences in the level of knowledge about first aid between teachers from a large city and a small town.

Conclusions: A systemic solutions for improvement of the knowledge of rules of giving the first aid among teachers and pupils are mandatory. The authors of this paper propose cyclical training courses for teachers led by medical professionals, and further courses for pupils led by those teachers in collaboration with students of the last year of paramedical studies.