Immediate care of school sport injury

Injuries of Primary School Children during Sports Activities

Introduction

The purpose of the research was to analyse the injuries of primary school children in the framework of organised sports activities at school and in clubs or associations, and in leisure time without professional guidance.

Methods

We surveyed 631 participants, of which there were 282 boys and 349 girls from eight Slovenian primary schools. Frequencies were calculated and a Chi-square test was performed.

Results

In physical education (PE) at school, 32% of the participants were injured in one school year, and there were no statistically significant differences in the number of injuries according to sex (p=0.18) and age (p=0.12). Most injuries were recorded in the lower extremities (50%), in the form of wounds. The participants were injured less often in PE at school than in a club or association, and more often than in their leisure time. The participants were absent from PE classes for longer after an injury in a club or association than in PE, while no significant differences in absences after injury were found. At school, the participants were most often injured in ball games, boys in football (43%) and girls in volleyball (19%). In activities in a club or association, we recorded the most injuries in boys in martial arts (18%) and dance for girls (19%). In their leisure time, boys suffered the most injuries from football (26%) and cycling, while girls suffered the most from running and rollerblading.

Conclusion

In the last ten years, the number of injuries in PE has increased in Slovenia. Based on the obtained results, we propose measures to reduce injuries and thus encourage more sports activities among children and adolescents, while ensuring their safety.

Awareness of injury among young athletic in western region of Saudi Arabia

The subject of injury awareness has largely received wide concern among the current scholarly studies and relevant work particularly in the developed contexts, thus this current study aims to investigate this topic with more focus on a developing setting of Saudi Arabia for further exploration the importance role of level having adequate knowledge and awareness of different sports injuries among young athletes in the area of western region of Saudi Arabia. The study was a descriptive nature and used the survey questionnaire for data collected purposes from different location in western region of Saudi Arabia for further perceptions in this topic. A total of 257 sample participated in this study with a response rate of 83%. The results revealed the young athletes had adequate awareness and knowledge about the injury rehabilitation and preventive exercise under professional supervision. The study provided practical implications that indicated the need to aware with the significance role of providing medical and injury therapy rehabilitation, which enable the athletes recognized to the best methods handling and treating the different types of injuries while sports activities and competition to minimize the risks of having serious injuries.

Are swimming coaches ready to help injured young swimmers?

Study aim: This study aimed to determine the knowledge and skills of swimming coaches in providing first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Material and methods: The sample consisted of 59 swimming coaches who responded to non-standardized questionnaire. The collected data were processed by the statistical program IBM SPSS (20.0), using the Chi-square test with cross-tabulation, with a level of statistical significance p ≤ 0.05.

Results: Obtained data showed a statistically significant difference in the knowledge of swimming coaches about first aid and CPR in relation to coaching experience (p = 0.025); in the knowledge of providing first aid and CPR between coaches who have a certificate of first aid and CPR and those who do not (p = 0.006) and in first aid and CPR knowledge between coaches who have renewed their first aid and CPR knowledge and those who did not (p = 0.045).

Conclusion: Based on the findings of the present study, swimming coaches included in this research did not have enough knowledge and skills in first aid and CPR, which makes swimming programs unsafe. By obliging swimming coaches to acquire and constantly improve their knowledge and skills in first aid and CPR, the environment for all swimming programs would become safer.

Confidence and willingness among laypersons in the UK to act in a head injury situation: a qualitative focus group study

OBJECTIVES

To explore factors influencing confidence and willingness among laypersons in the UK to act in a head injury situation, in order to inform first aid education offered by the British Red Cross.

DESIGN

Qualitative focus group study.

SETTING

South East England.

PARTICIPANTS

Forty-four laypersons (37 women, 7 men) were purposively recruited from the general public using snowball sampling, into one focus group each for six population groups: parents of young children (n=8), informal carers of older adults (n=7), school staff (n=7), sports coaches (n=2), young adults (n=9) and 'other' adults (n=11). The median (range) age group across the sample was 25-34 years (18-24, 84-95). Participants were from Asian (n=6), Black (n=6), Mixed (n=2) and White (n=30) ethnic backgrounds.

RESULTS

The majority of participants described being confident and willing to act in a head injury scenario if that meant calling for assistance, but did not feel sufficiently confident or knowledgeable to assist or make decisions in a more involved way. Individuals' confidence and willingness presented as fluid and dependent on an interplay of situational and contextual considerations, which strongly impacted decision-making: prior knowledge and experience, characteristics of the injured person, un/observed head injury, and location and environment. These considerations may be framed as enablers or barriers to helping behaviour, impacting decision-making to the same extent as-or even more so than-the clinical signs and symptoms of head injury. An individual conceptual model is proposed to illustrate inter-relationships between these factors.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings show that confidence and willingness to act in a head injury scenario are dependent on several contextual and situational factors. It is important to address such factors, in addition to knowledge of clinical signs and symptoms, in first aid education and training to improve confidence and willingness to act.

Sport injury prevention in-school and out-of-school? A qualitative investigation of the trans-contextual model

OBJECTIVE

To investigate junior secondary school students' experiences and perspectives of in-school and out-of-school sport-safety, with a particular focus on the meaning and content that they applied to the motivational and social cognitive factors of sport injury prevention.

DESIGN

Focus-group interview.

METHOD

Participants were 128 junior secondary school students (Form 1 to Form 3) aged between 12 and 16 years from two secondary schools. We organised focus-group interviews by class (group size = six to nine students). Seventeen groups completed semi-structured interviews regarding their experience, beliefs, and motives for injury prevention in-school and out-of-school. We analysed data by thematic content analysis using a typological approach.

RESULTS

Higher order themes (N = 7) including in-school and out-of-school motives and social cognitive factors and associated lower-order themes (N = 16), emerged from the analysis corresponding to constructs from trans-contextual model tenets.

CONCLUSIONS

The current study is the first qualitative study to explore junior secondary school students' experience and perspectives on sport injury prevention, using trans-contextual model as a framework for investigation. The findings contribute to a better understanding on their motivational and social cognitive factors in adopting sport injury prevention. The content of the theme behavior also indicated the inadequacy of students' knowledge of effective sport injury prevention techniques, and underscored the importance of sport safety education.

Knowledge and practice of secondary school teachers about first aid

Background

School students are vulnerable to the risks of accidents and injuries and hence require first aid more often than do adults. The first responsible person to reach an injured student at school is the teacher.

Aim

To assess secondary school teachers' knowledge and practice regarding first aid.

Methodology

Following a cross-sectional descriptive study design in Khamis Mushayt City, Saudi Arabia, 250 secondary school teachers (110 males and 140 females) were included in this study. A self-administered questionnaire designed by the researcher was used for data collection.

Results

Main sources of knowledge for secondary school teachers were mass media, physicians, and educational school books. Most teachers are not trained on first aid. About half of the teachers face cases that need first aid, but only half of them provide the necessary first aid. Only 19.6% were knowledgeable regarding first aid, 48.8% faced cases that needed first aid, and only 54.9% of those who faced cases that needed first aid could provide the necessary first aid. Participants' knowledge grades differed significantly according to their age groups (P = 0.003), gender (P = 0.035), and experience in teaching (P = 0.001).

Conclusion

Knowledge and practices of secondary school teachers on first aid need to be improved.

First aid facilities in the school settings: Are schools able to manage adequately?

Background and Objective:

Children spend most of their time in schools and are vulnerable to injuries and mild ailments, hence requiring first-aid care. School teacher can provide immediate first-aid care in the absence of any health professional. This study assesses first-aid facilities within school premises and assessment of teachers on first aid training.

Methods:

A cross sectional study was conducted from July-December 2017, participants were full time school teachers of both public and private sectors at both primary and secondary levels, having a minimum of one year experience. Questionnaire was filled on one to one basis by taking oral interview.

Results:

Out of 209 teachers, 72.7% were from private sector. Stomachache was the most common medical incident (82.29%) requiring first-aid care in schools. First aid box was available in all schools but its contents were not satisfactory. Sick bay was not found in any school. 68.42% of teachers were not trained in first-aid management because of lack of opportunity, however 56% were willing to enroll in any first aid training and majority (91.38%) considered it essential for their professional life.

Conclusion:

First aid facilities at various schools of Karachi and availability of trained teachers who can provide first aid care is unsatisfactory.

Effectiveness of basic life support instruction in physical education students--a pilot study

BACKGROUND

According to the literature, 40% of injuries affecting school-age children are sports related. The role of physical education students, as future teachers, seems to be of high importance in terms of protecting children's safety during sports classes.

PURPOSES

The aim is to evaluate the level of basic life support (BLS) knowledge and skills in physical education students instructed with the use of different methods.

METHODS

Second-year physical education students (n=104, M age=20±0.6 years) were randomly assigned to three groups: experimental 1 (E1), experimental 2 (E2), and control (C). Group E1 students participated in a 2-hour BLS course based on computer-assisted presentations. Group E2 trainees practiced BLS algorithm in pairs during a 2-hour course. No manikins were used in both intervention groups. Students of Group C were asked to learn BLS algorithm on their own. All groups fulfilled a 10-question multiple-choice test on BLS at the beginning and the end of the experiment. After completing the course participants performed BLS on a manikin.

RESULTS

The results of knowledge test were not significant before an experiment but differed essentially among the groups afterward (analysis of variance contrast analysis, p<.05). Regardless of teaching method used, no significant differences were found among the students in preparatory BLS actions and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) performance on a manikin. The level of CPR performance was very low in all groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Students of both intervention groups improved their BLS knowledge after the training. Teaching methods used in the current study seemed to be ineffective in terms of practical CPR skills. Access to greater number of modern manikins should improve the BLS training in physical education students. Moreover, permanent consultation on instructional methods with emergency medicine experts is recommended for university teachers.

A national survey of clubs medical personnel, facilities and protocols in Irish Rugby Union

BACKGROUND

Rugby Union is one of the most popular sports in Ireland. Participation in all sports carries risk, and there is an onus on governing bodies and those involved in sport to minimise this risk using injury prevention and management programmes.

AIMS

The aim of this study was to evaluate the current status of medical personnel, facilities and equipment in Rugby Union clubs in Ireland.

METHODS

A nationwide cross sectional survey of affiliated clubs in Ireland was undertaken at the beginning of the 2011-2012. Clubs were surveyed on a range of variables including their medical personnel, facilities, equipment, policies and concussion.

RESULTS

47.7 % of those surveyed responded. The majority reported involvement of appropriate medically qualified personnel, having a dedicated medical area/room, a first aid kit and defibrillator, and a demand for first aid courses.

CONCLUSIONS

This survey provided key information on the current medical status of clubs in Ireland to the governing body. Many clubs have adequate medical resources in place, however a large number do not have medical professionals working with them or own basic medical equipment. The results of this study have lead to the development and implementation of a rugby specific injury prevention and management programme for medical and non-medical personnel at all levels of the game in Ireland.

Pediatric first aid knowledge and attitudes among staff in the preschools of Shanghai, China

Background

Unintentional injury remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children worldwide. The aims of this study were to assess a baseline level of first aid knowledge and overall attitudes regarding first aid among staff members in Shanghai preschools.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was carried out among the staff members at selected preschools. A stratified random sampling method was first used to identify suitable subjects. Data were obtained using a multiple-choice questionnaire. A standardized collection of demographics was performed and participants were given the aforementioned questionnaire to indicate knowledge of and attitudes toward first aid.

Results

1067 subjects completed the questionnaire. None of the surveyed employees answered all questions correctly; only 39 individuals (3.7%) achieved passing scores. The relative number of correct answers to specific questions ranged from 16.5% to 90.2%. In particular, subjects lacked knowledge regarding first aid for convulsive seizures (only 16.5% answered correctly), chemical injuries to the eye (23%), inhaled poison (27.6%), and choking and coughing (30.1%). A multiple linear regression analysis showed scores were significantly higher among staff members with more education, those who had received first aid training before or were already healthcare providers, younger employees, and staff members from rural districts. Most employees agreed that giving first aid was helpful; the vast majority felt that it was important and useful for them to learn pediatric first aid.

Conclusions

The level of first-aid knowledge among preschool staffs in Shanghai was low. There is an urgent need to educate staff members regarding first aid practices and the various risk factors relating to specific injuries.

European first aid guidelines

AIM

Our objectives were to determine the most effective, safe, and feasible first aid (FA) techniques and procedures, and to formulate valid recommendations for training. We focussed on emergencies involving few casualties, where emergency medical services or healthcare professionals are not immediately present at the scene, but are available within a short space of time. Due to time and resource constraints, we limited ourselves to safety, emergency removal, psychosocial FA, traumatology, and poisoning. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was not included because guidelines are already available from the European Resuscitation Council (ERC). The FA guidelines are intended to provide guidance to authors of FA handbooks and those responsible for FA programmes. These guidelines, together with the ERC resuscitation guidelines, will be integrated into a European FA Reference Guide and a European FA Manual.

METHODS

To create these guidelines we used an evidence-based guideline development process, based on the methodology of the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN).

RESULTS

The recommendations cover FA for bleeding, wounds, burns, spinal and head trauma, musculoskeletal trauma, and poisoning, as well as safety and psychosocial FA.

CONCLUSIONS

Where good evidence was available, we were able to turn science into practice. Where evidence was lacking, the recommendations were consensus-based. These guidelines provide systematically developed recommendations and justifications for the procedures and techniques that should be included in FA manuals and training programmes.

Injuries during physical activity in school children

During the spring of 2001, 1975 children, from grades 3, 6 and 9 participated in a nationwide, multidisciplinary collaboration study. The students came from randomly selected classes throughout Sweden, representing different geographical and socio-economic areas. The aim of this study was to collect and evaluate self-reported injuries and associated factors during various physical activities as recalled retrospectively for 3 months by the students. Every sixth student (n=299 or 16%) reported 306 injuries. Twice as many girls than boys were injured during physical education class. Ninth-grade students reported relatively more injuries during organized sports than during physical education class and leisure activities. There were no age or gender differences in incidence rate during leisure activities. Most injuries were minor, as 70% were back in physical activity within a week. Half of the students (50%) reported that they previously had injured the same body part. Primary care of the injured student was, with the exception of a family member, most often carried out by the physical education teacher or coach, which accentuates the importance of continuous sports medicine first aid education for this group.

Pediatric first aid knowledge among parents

OBJECTIVE

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has published simple guidelines for the first aid management of ill or injured children. We determined knowledge of these first aid practices in parents.

METHODS

Design-Descriptive survey.

PARTICIPANTS

A convenience sample of adult parents presenting to the emergency department.

SURVEY INSTRUMENT

Standardized collection of demographics was performed and adults were given a multiple-choice questionnaire concerning the proper management of stings and bites, burns and scalds, eye injuries, fractures and sprains, fever, head injuries, fainting, poisoning, dental emergencies, nosebleeds, seizures, and skin wounds.

OUTCOMES

Percentage of adults responding to questions appropriately based on AAP guidelines.

DATA ANALYSIS

Descriptive statistics and chi2 tests.

RESULTS

Six hundred fifty-four adults were surveyed. Mean age (SD) was 38.5 (13.8), 56% were female, 69% were white, 56% had at least a high school education. None of those surveyed answered all questions correctly with roughly half being familiar with 60% of the questions. Knowledge of specific guidelines ranged from 21% to 92%. Subjects especially lacked knowledge regarding the need to rapidly remove all bee stingers (only 36% aware); keep wounds moist and covered (79% felt that drying wounds was beneficial); the need to cover victims of large burns (only 43% aware); and the need to seek medical attention after tick bites (only 47% aware). Knowledge was unaffected by age, gender, and education.

CONCLUSIONS

Many adults are unfamiliar with AAP first aid measures according to the AAP guidelines and most believe that wounds should be allowed to dry. Further education is required to improve knowledge of first aid practices.