In this study, very few students demonstrated good knowledge of first-aid principles, whether they had received prior training in first-aid procedures or not. Likewise, a Peruvian study among medical students reported that 60.4% of the participants showed poor first-aid knowledge although 52.5% of them had received prior training on how to act in an emergency. Further, a Dutch study reported that 81% of junior doctors had poor knowledge of first-aid principles [5]. Thus, we conclude that taking courses alone is not sufficient to apply the knowledge in real-life situations. Therefore, it is advisable to perform frequent knowledge assessments through out the courses to obtain the best possible result. It is also encouraged to undergo follow-up sessions every 6–12 months to ensure that the population in general, and medical students in particular, remain well-informed and updated about the latest standards of practice followed in first-aid procedures [6].
We also note that most medical students obtained average scores on their first-aid knowledge assessment and that only a tiny group managed to score above average. Furthermore, the largest proportion of clinical-year (senior) students were able to score well on first-aid knowledge assessment. This indicates the urgent need to devote greater focus to the topic of first aid among pre-clinical students [5].
In this study, 35.9% of students were correctly aware of the steps of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) as part of their overall first-aid administration, which was a very high percentage compared to the results of a study conducted in Salem, Tamil Nadu, where it was reported to be 17.1. %. Also, in the Dutch study, only 6% of students knew and performed CPR correctly [7]. Nevertheless, except that similarly to our own, two Karachi-based studies reported that 32.2% and 38.8% of participants knew how to perform CPR correctly [4]. Moreover, the test results were similar to some studies and different from others, as we have shown previously, depending on the different causes leading to this result and the different living conditions in the countries.
Properly administering first aid for burns was recognized by 57% of students compared to 23.2% in an Irish study, showing that our students are thoroughly informed about the concept of burns. On the other hand, the latter study reported that 30.4% of medical students had good knowledge of first-aid management in cases of accidental ingestion of toxins compared to 21.9% in our study [3].
As for applying ambulance-aid principles to fractures, external bleeding, and cases of trauma in general, many students demonstrated good knowledge, indicating that our curricula focus relatively more on these topics. In contrast, regarding the priority of examination when viewing Injured, a low percentage of students answered correctly, comprising about 32.2% (Table 2). Moreover, based on the results obtained (Table 2), we find that most of the students did not provide correct answers on several topics such as ankle sprain and trauma, which comprised 26% of the lack of knowledge of trauma management compared to fractures, whose rate was only about 8.1%.
Meanwhile, television advertisements can have an impact on viewers' perceptions of first-aid procedures, especially medical students, and can be used as a means of raising awareness and disseminating knowledge. Needless to say, an increase in knowledge among medical students would result in individuals who are knowledgeable and confident enough to handle any critical situation they might encounter. This may be especially vital for a country in the face of any natural disasters because medical students will be the future cornerstone of facing any health risk that society may be exposed to. Another benefit from training students in first aid is that they can successfully provide first-aid training to their peers or other beneficiaries as stated by 97.7% of medical students at Altintaş et al. [8] [9] [10].