ANALYSIS OF TEACHERS' UNDERSTANDING FROM MUNICIPAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS AND PUBLIC EARLY EDUCATION CENTERS ABOUT FIRST AID (Atena Editora)

Abstract

In childhood, accidents are common, especially in the school environment, which justifies the need for knowledge about first aid by everyone, especially teachers, as they spend a large part of their time with children. Schools must inspire confidence in the parents who share the education of these students and, therefore, safety and care for them must be a daily objective for all pedagogical staff involved in the education of these children. This study aimed to evaluate the understanding of elementary school and early childhood education teachers about first aid and their actions in the face of possible accidents in the school environment. It was a study that was observational, descriptive, quantitative and with transversal approach. The data presented was collected using the Google Forms tool using a non-probabilistic sample using the snowball sampling technique. The field of study comprised 33 Elementary Schools and 21 Early Childhood Education Centers, located in the municipality of Colatina, in the northwest region of Espírito Santo. The sample consisted of 226 teachers from these institutions who agreed to participate in the study by electronically signing the Free and Informed Consent Form (TCLE). The results revealed that 61.1% of teachers had never taken any extracurricular courses in the area of first aid, 67.3% had already witnessed a situation that required basic knowledge of pre-hospital care and 71.2% of teachers would not be confident in provide first aid to a child. Therefore, it is enough to admit the evidence of teachers' difficulties in knowledge regarding first aid in school accidents, in this study scenario. Specific first aid training is recommended for elementary school and early childhood education teachers.