Impact of a Basic Life-Saving Skills Program on Refugee Students and Teachers: A Qualitative Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31436/ijcs.v9i1.556Keywords:
Refugees, Child, Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, First aid, Emergency preparedness, Qualitative research, Focus groupsAbstract
Background: This qualitative post-program evaluation study explored the impact of a basic life-saving skills program on refugee students and teachers from the Rohingya Education Centre in Kuantan, Pahang.
Methods: A total of 31 refugee children aged 5–14 years and six teachers participated in focus group discussions to examine knowledge gained, confidence development, and preparedness to respond to life-threatening situations.
Results: Thematic analysis, guided by Braun and Clarke’s six-step framework, generated 11 overarching themes, reflecting experiential learning, emotional responses, confidence development, preparedness, and program acceptance. Teachers corroborated student findings, observing improvements in knowledge, skill application, and confidence.
Conclusion: Findings suggest that culturally and age-appropriate life-saving skills education can significantly enhance refugee children’s emergency response readiness and promote teacher-facilitated sustainability of safety education. Implications for curriculum integration and continued safety training in refugee education contexts are discussed.
References
Schroeder, Daniel C, Federico S, Robert G, Janet B, Peter M, Michael P, Naomi KN et al. "Kids Save Lives: basic life support education for schoolchildren: a narrative review and scientific statement from the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation." Circulation. 2023;147 (24): 1854-1868. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001128
Ko, Jang-Sik, Seon-Rye K, and Byung-Jun C. "The effect of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) education on the CPR knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, and confidence in performing CPR among elementary school students in Korea." In Healthcare. 2023; 11 (14): 2047. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11142047
Banfai B, Pek E, Pandur A, Csonka H, Betlehem J. The year of first aid: Effectiveness of a 3-day first aid programme for 7–14-year-old primary school children. Emergency Medicine Journal. 2017; 34(8): 526–532. https://doi.org/10.1136/emermed-2016-206284.
Cho BJ.The effect of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) education on the CPR knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, and confidence in performing CPR among elementary school students in Korea. Healthcare. 2023;11(14): 2047. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11142047.
Piva? S, Gradišek P & Skela-Savi? B. The impact of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training on schoolchildren’s knowledge, attitudes, and willingness to perform CPR: A mixed-methods study. BMC Public Health. 2020; 20: 915. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09064-0.
Tse E, Plakitsi K & Voulgaris S. The role of a first aid training programme for young children: A systematic review. Children (Basel). 2023; 10(3): 431. https://doi.org/10.3390/children10030431.
Jamaludin TSS, Nurumal MS, Sanusi ZA, Che Hasan MK, Firdaus MKZH, Che Abdullah CA, Win KK & Sutrisno RY. Essential Life-Saving Skills for Schoolchildren: A Scoping Review. International Journal Of Care Scholars. 2024; 7(2): 111–119. https://doi.org/10.31436/ijcs.v7i2.370.
UNHCR Malaysia. Education for Refugees in Malaysia. 2024. Retrieved from https://www.unhcr.org/my/
Jamaludin TSS, Nurumal MS, Sanusi ZA, Che Hasan MK, Firdaus MKZH, Che Abdullah CA, Win KK & Sutrisno RY. Baseline Evaluation of Knowledge, Awareness, and Confidence in Basic Life-Saving Skills among Refugee Schoolchildren. Semarak International Journal of Applied Psychology. 2025; 8 (1):46-54. https://semarakilmu.my/index.php/sijap/index.
Jamaludin TSS, Nurumal MS, Sanusi ZA, Che Hasan MK, Firdaus MKZH & A Rahman NH. Knowledge and practice of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for drowning among primary school children. International Journal of Care Scholars. 2022; 5(2): 35–45. https://doi.org/10.31436/ijcs.v5i2.246
Jamaludin TSS & Zakaria MAB. Knowledge, Awareness and Attitude Related to First Aid among IIIUM Kuantan Campus Students. IIUM Medical Journal Malaysia. 2017; 16(1). https://doi.org/10.31436/imjm.v16i1.1155
Nurumal MS, Jamaludin TSS, Shamsudin LA & Ramli MZ. Attitudes and Barriers of Primary School Children on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation for Drowning Victims. Jurnal Pendidikan Keperawatan Indonesia. 2021; 7(2):104-111. https://doi.org/10.17509/jpki.v7i2.3999.
Jamaludin TSS, Nurumal MS, Hassan M, Win KK & Sutrisno RY. Sustainable Education for Refugee Children: A Quasi-Experimental Study. Proceedings Series on Health & Medical Sciences 6. 2025 : 221-227. https://doi.org/10.30595/pshms.v6i.1427
Sun R, Wang Y, Wu Q et al. Effectiveness of virtual and augmented reality for cardiopulmonary resuscitation training: A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Medical Education. 2024; 24: 730. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05720-8.
Chali MT, Eshete SK, Debela KL. Learning how research design methods work: A review of Creswell's research design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches. The Qualitative Report. 2022; 1;27(12):2956-60.
Ahmed SK. Sample size for saturation in qualitative research: Debates, definitions, and strategies. Journal of Medicine, Surgery, and Public Health. 2025;1 (5):100171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.glmedi.2024.100171
Corrigan PW, Oppenheim M. The power of community-based participatory research (CBPR). Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal. 2024; 47(1):2. https://doi.org/10.1037/prj0000568
Tajik O, Golzar J, Noor S. Purposive sampling. International Journal of Education & Language Studies. 2025; 16:1-9. https://doi.org/10.22034/ijels.2025.490681.1029
Adler RH. Trustworthiness in qualitative research. Journal of human lactation. 2022 Nov;38(4):598-602. https://doi.org/10.1177/08903344221116620
Mwilongo N. Focus Group Discussions in Qualitative Research: Dos and Don'ts. Eminent Journal of Social Sciences. 2025; 23;1(1):1-6. https://doi.org/10.70582/28z5p189
Braun V, Clarke V. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative research in psychology. 2006; 1;3(2):77-101.
Betancourt TS, Beardslee W, Kirk C, Hann K, Zombo M, Mushashi C, Bizimana JI. Working with vulnerable populations. Global mental health trials. 2014 Jun 19:98-122.
Martínez-Isasi, Santiago, Cristian Abelairas-Gómez, María Pichel-López, Roberto Barcala-Furelos, Cristina Varela-Casal, David Vázquez-Santamariña, Luis Sánchez-Santos, and Antonio Rodríguez-Núñez. "Learning to resuscitate at school. Study in 8-12 year-old schoolchildren." Anales de Pediatría (English Edition). 2022; 96 (1 ): 17-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anpede.2020.09.013
Semeraro F, Wingen S, Schroeder DC et al.KIDS SAVE LIVES: Educating schoolchildren in CPR worldwide. Resuscitation. 2017; 112, A1–A3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resuscitation.2016.12.024.
Semwal J, Kaur Bakshi R, Juyal R, Vyas S & Kandpal S D. Study of knowledge and attitudes to first aid among school children of Doiwala block, Dehradun. International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health. 2017; 4(3), 4(8):2934-2938. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20173348.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CARE SCHOLARS
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
