Knowledge of First Aid Skills among Medical Students in King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia

The objective of the study was to assess the level of knowledge of medical students in providing first aid to the patients. A cross-sectional study was carried out at four Medical Colleges of King Khalid University (KKU). A structured questionnaire of first aid skills obtained from Saudi Red Crescent Authority was used. Based on the scores of corrected answers obtained in each condition requiring first aid, the overall knowledge was graded. The study population was 703 comprising of 394 male (56%) and 309 female students (44%). Their age ranged between 18 and 26 years with a mean of 21.71±1.56 years. Only 131 (18.6%) had received a first aid provider certificate and 53 (7.5%) of students had been certified for BLS. Above 70% of corrected answers was observed in 64 (9%), 50-70% of corrected answers in 169 (24%) and less than 50% of corrected answers in 470 (67%) participants. The percent number of correct answer was significantly associated with the type of college, academic year and obtaining first aid training and BLS certified (p