An educational pathway and teaching materials for first aid training of children in sub-Saharan Africa based on the best available evidence
Date
2020-06-03
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
BMC (part of Springer Nature)
Abstract
Background: First aid training is a cost-effective way to decrease the burden of disease and injury in low- and
middle-income countries (LMIC). Since evidence from Western countries has shown that children are able to learn
first aid, first aid training of children in LMIC may be a promising way forward. Hence, our project aim was to
develop contextualized materials to train sub-Saharan African children in first aid, based on the best available
evidence.
Methods: Systematic literature searches were conducted to identify studies on first aid education to children up to
18 years old (research question one), and studies investigating different teaching approaches (broader than first aid)
in LMIC (research question two). A multidisciplinary expert panel translated the evidence to the context of sub-
Saharan Africa, and evidence and expert input were used to develop teaching materials.
Results: For question one, we identified 58 studies, measuring the effect of training children in resuscitation, first
aid for skin wounds, poisoning etc. For question two, two systematic reviews were included from which we
selected 36 studies, revealing the effectiveness of several pedagogical methods, such as problem-solving instruction
and small-group instruction. However, the certainty of the evidence was low to very low. Hence expert input was
necessary to formulate training objectives and age ranges based on “good practice” whenever the quantity or
quality of the evidence was limited. The experts also placed the available evidence against the African context.
Conclusions: The above approach resulted in an educational pathway (i.e. a scheme with educational goals
concerning first aid for different age groups), a list of recommended educational approaches, and first aid teaching
materials for children, based on the best available evidence and adapted to the African context.
Description
CITATION: De Buck, E., et al. 2020. An educational pathway and teaching materials for first aid training of children in sub-Saharan Africa based on the best available evidence. BMC Public Health, 20:836, doi:10.1186/s12889-020-08857-5.
The original publication is available at https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com
The original publication is available at https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com
Keywords
First aid -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Curricula -- Africa, Sub-Saharan, First aid -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Aids and devices -- Africa, Sub-Saharan, Helping behavior -- Africa, Sub-Saharan, Evidence-based medicine -- Practice
Citation
De Buck, E., et al. 2020. An educational pathway and teaching materials for first aid training of children in sub-Saharan Africa based on the best available evidence. BMC Public Health, 20:836, doi:10.1186/s12889-020-08857-5