Assessment Teachers’ Knowledge about Providing First Aid in Private and Public Primary Schools in Babylon Governorate

Background: Children spend a significant amount of time in schools, where they are exposed to health emergencies that require rapid intervention, such as cuts, bruises, bleeding, asthma attacks, and even loss of consciousness. Teachers are the most likely to handle these situations, and therefore must possess adequate first aid knowledge. A lack of this knowledge can lead to serious complications or even death. Therefore, assessing teachers' first aid knowledge is an important step toward enhancing student safety and improving emergency response within schools. Objective: The objective of the study is to analyse the knowledge level of the primary school teachers both in government and privately run schools on the first aid issues and to see their preparedness to handle any emergency situations that could happen at the school and might need their attention. Methodology: The study applied a cross-sectional study design to assess knowledge of the primary school teachers in Babil Governorate, in both governmental and private schools regarding the first aid procedures. This study commenced on march 14, 2025 to July 1, 2025. Target samples: (499) male and female teachers in the governmental and private schools in Babil Governorate. The sample is assigned to the research as per certain criteria. An instrument that was designed to assess the study is a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire largely comprises three sections, which include personal data, general information and the final section is information about the knowledge regarding first aid of the teachers. Results: The study represents the ages of the participants in the questionnaire, and the largest percentage (17.4%) was from the age group (31-34 years), The majority (71.5%) were females, the majority (78%) were from the government sector, have you received first aid training before? The majority (65.3%) answered no, while the question Is there a first aid kit or box at school? The majority answered with yes about (86%). Conclusion: This recent study aimed to assess primary school teachers' knowledge of first aid. The results indicated that a large percentage of teachers did not know the emergency number, and that half of the participants had not attended first aid courses. Many of them did not know how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Recommendation: Coordination with health authorities to conduct training courses for teachers on first aid for students.