“EMERGENCIES IN PEDIATRICS, BASIC LIFE SUPPORT, WHAT TO DO?”, EXPERIENCE REPORT OF AN EXTENSIONIST ACTION BY UFPR TOLEDO (Atena Editora)

Abstract

A pediatric emergency is a situation in which a child's life is in immediate danger. Early recognition and the first adequate approach directly affect the patient's prognosis. In view of this, Basic Life Support (BLS) health education is an important demand that positively impacts both the victim, with increased survival and decreased sequelae, and the community. The objective of the present work is to report on the development of pediatric emergency courses taught in 2018 by the Academic League of Pediatrics (LAP) of the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), Toledo campus, as well as highlight their social gains. In 2018, LAP, an extension project with academics and professors of Medicine at UFPR de Toledo, held courses on “Emergencies in Pediatrics, Basic Life Support, what to do?”, with the aim of training early childhood education professionals in to pediatric emergencies. In total, the courses were attended by 30 professionals from five schools in the city of Toledo. Theoretical-practical classes were given, application of the same questionnaire before and after training and distribution of a booklet with conducts in BLS prepared by league members themselves. The topics covered in the course and included in the booklet were: respiratory and cardiorespiratory arrest, obstruction of the airways by a foreign body, burns, poisoning, traumatic brain injury, drowning, fractures and hemorrhages. The training proved to be effective, since, of the 10 questions present in the questionnaire, the average of correct answers before the training was 5.9, increasing to 8.15 after the training, which demonstrates a use of 72.4%. In addition, the professional growth of the students was evident, who demonstrated autonomy and mastery of the subject at each training, important characteristics for future professionals. The pediatric emergencies course provided the inclusion of LAP students in the community, with the development of interpersonal relationships, communication skills and consolidation of scientific learning. The role of academics as disseminators of information provides greater security for caregivers in case of need to care for children, which modifies the social determinants of the population's health and supports the objective of a university extension activity. In addition, the approach of this theme to the servers makes it possible to spread knowledge exponentially, since they can transmit the knowledge to other teachers and so on.