Impact of a postcrash first aid educational program on knowledge, perceived skills confidence, and skills utilization among traffic police officers: A single-arm before-after intervention study

Abstract

Background: An overwhelming proportion of road traffic deaths and injuries in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) occur in prehospital environments. Lay first responders such as police officers play an important role in providing initial assistance to victims of road traffic injuries either alone or in collaboration with others. The present study evaluated a postcrash first aid (PFA) educational program developed for police officers in Tanzania. Method: A 16-h PFA educational program was conducted in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, for 135 police officers. Participants completed training surveys before, immediately and 6 months after the training (before, N = 135; immediately after, N = 135; after 6 months, N = 102). The primary outcome measures were PFA knowledge, perceived skills confidence, and skills utilization. Parametric and nonparametric tests were used to analyse changes in outcome. Results: The mean PFA knowledge score increased from 44.73% before training (SD = 20.70) to 72.92% 6 months after training (SD = 18.12), p