Knowledge And Practice Regarding Prehospital Care After Road Traffic Accidents Among Three-Wheel Drivers and Associated Factors in Selected Police Areas in Colombo District, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Introduction: Road traffic injuries are an increasingly significant public health issue worldwide. Knowledge and practice of prehospital care is a crucial responsibility of every citizen of the country. Pre-hospital care is delivered by a civilian first responder, who is usually another driver. The study aims to describe the knowledge and practice of prehospital care after a road traffic injury among three-wheel drivers and associated factors in selected police areas in the Colombo District. Methods: A communitybased descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in three Colombo Municipality police areas. A sample of 384 full-time three-wheel drivers above the age of 18 years, registered in these police areas were recruited using a simple random sampling method. A structured pre-tested intervieweradministered questionnaire was used for data collection. Descriptive analysis was used to determine the level of knowledge and practices regarding prehospital care. SPSS version 25 was used for data entry and analysis. Significance was taken as p<0.05. Results: Mean age of three-wheel drivers was 40.98 (SD±11.01). Only 31.5% of the drivers had first aid training. The majority (52.9%) of the drivers had good knowledge and 65.2% had poor practice towards prehospital care. Advanced age (>45 years) and having first aid training were significantly associated with good knowledge (p<0.05). Drivers with previous training within the last ten years (p=0.031) and having less hires per day (<10) were significantly associated with better first aid practice (p=0.001). Conclusion: Although knowledge regarding prehospital care was adequate, practice of prehospital care was inadequate. Findings of the study call for ongoing first-aid training for all three-wheel drivers.
Keywords: Prehospital care, First aid, Knowledge, Practice, Road traffic accidents