Background: In Slovenia, drowning is the most common cause of accidental death in infants, while falls, burns, and poisoning are the most frequent reasons for hospitalization in children under three. Both domestic and international studies highlight parents' limited knowledge of first aid. Specific areas causing the most difficulty include airway obstruction, managing febrile seizures, poisoning, and basic life support. A consistent finding is the need for further parental education in first aid, coupled with parents' expressed interest in such training. Objective: The thesis aimed to design and implement a first aid workshop for infants that is appropriate in length and content for new parents. Specific objectives included developing a workshop program, conducting and evaluating the workshop, and creating a final proposal for a first-aid workshop for infants. Methods: An action research approach following a spiral model of see-think-act was employed. Descriptive methods, including literature review, passive and active participant observation, and two questionnaires, were used. The workshop was held in June 2024, consisting of three 120-minute sessions at the Slovenian Red Cross - Škofja Loka Regional Association. Results: Twenty parents of children under two years old attended the workshop. Participants actively contributed to the workshop's development through their comments. They praised the workshop's duration, practical exercises, choice of topics, and clarity. Minor shortcomings were identified only in the first session. Participants suggested additional topics and further implementation of the workshop. The evaluation after the final session indicated satisfaction among both participants and instructors. Discussion and Conclusion: The infant first aid workshop covered topics such as differentiation of age limits, calling emergency services, basic first aid concepts, burns, wounds, and bruises, tooth avulsion, poisoning by medications, cleaning products, and pesticides, foreign bodies in the ears, eyes, and nose, nosebleeds, infant airway obstruction, and infant basic life support. The workshop was well-received by parents. This workshop proposal can serve as a model for organizations providing first aid training to expand their offerings to include infant first aid.
Keywords: infant, action research, first aid, workshop.
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