Polish Journal of Public Health

Introduction. Burns are one of the most common injuries. They may happen to every person, and are particularly frequent in children. Serious burns require expensive, long-lasting treatment and rehabilitation. They may be the initial cause of death in many cases. In spite of complex treatment given to a burnt patient, he or she may become permanently disabled. The decrease in the number of this type of injury may be brought about by primary prevention, including properly performed health education.

Aim. Aim of the research is to evaluate the knowledge of primary school students concerning burns and the rules of giving First Aid to burnt people.

Material and methods. The research presented was carried out among the fourth- to sixth-grade students from Nicolaus Copernicus State Primary School no. 5 in Brzeg. An original questionnaire was chosen as a research tool. It was performed twice: first time to evaluate the initial knowledge of students and second time, and after a short (2 x 45 minutes) training on burns and how to take care of burnt people. Chi-square test was used to evaluate statistically the data obtained. The value of p<0.05 was assumed as statistically significant.

Results. One hundred fifty one out of 202 fourth- to sixth-grade students took part in the research. The average value of correct answers equaled 56.50% in the pre-test. After the training, it rose to 79.88%. The highest percentage of correct answers occurred in the group of sixth-grade students, whereas the lowest – in the group of fourth-grade students, however the difference was not statistically significant.

Conclusions. The research performed indicated that the knowledge of primary school students was not sufficient for them to be able to effectively give First Aid to burnt people.