Comparative Assessment of Knowledge on Household Poisons and First-Aid Management of Poisoning among Medical and Non-Medical University Students in Pakistan

Background: Poisoning incidents present a significant health risk worldwide, necessitating effective first-aid responses. Accurate and timely first-aid responses are essential for saving lives and improving treatment outcomes, particularly in emergencies. Assessing public knowledge of poisoning management is, therefore, crucial. Objectives: To determine the knowledge of household poisons and first-aid treatment of poisoning among undergraduate university students of Pakistan and to compare this knowledge among undergraduate non-medical and medical students. Method: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in different universities in Karachi from August 2023 to March 2024. Data was collected using a self-designed 17-item questionnaire. SPSS version 26 was used to analyze data. Results: Among 406 university students, 62% students demonstrated adequate knowledge, while 38% students demonstrated inadequate knowledge, with medical students exhibiting significantly higher knowledge levels (73.4%) compared to non-medical students (51.2%) (p<0.001). While females had slightly higher adequate knowledge levels (65.8%) than males (58.9%), the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.142). Knowledge levels increased significantly with age (p=0.012) and academic progression (p<0.001), ranging from 52.1% in first-year to 72.3% in fifth-year students. The highest competency areas included emergency number awareness (83.2%) and personal protective equipment use (82.3%), whereas the lowest scores were observed in snakebite management (58.7%) and neutralizing agent use (55.3%). Conclusion: It was concluded that many medical as well as non-medical students lack the required amount of information about poisoning and its first aid measures. This is an eye-opening study, and immediate measures should be taken to establish poisoning information and control centers.