Abstract

Emergencies and injuries can occur unexpectedly within school environments, including falls, burns, cuts, fractures, fainting, choking, seizures, and other medical emergencies. Secondary school teachers are often among the first adults available to respond when students experience injuries or sudden health emergencies before professional medical assistance becomes available. Appropriate first-aid practices can help stabilize injured individuals, prevent complications, reduce unnecessary suffering, and facilitate timely referral to appropriate healthcare services. Emergency preparedness education provides teachers with knowledge and practical skills relating to emergency recognition, first-aid procedures, emergency communication, evacuation, basic life support, injury prevention, and appropriate referral. In Nigeria, however, many schools may face challenges such as inadequate first-aid equipment, limited emergency training, insufficient school health personnel, and lack of standardized emergency preparedness programmes. Teachers may therefore be required to respond to emergencies without adequate knowledge or practical skills. Strengthening emergency preparedness education may improve teachers' confidence, knowledge, and ability to provide appropriate first aid during school emergencies. Against this background, this study investigates the influence of emergency preparedness education on first-aid practices among secondary school teachers in Nigeria. The study is anchored on Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), the Health Belief Model (HBM), and Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory. Social Cognitive Theory emphasizes the interaction between knowledge, self-efficacy, behavioural capabilities, observational learning, and environmental influences in shaping health-related behaviours. The Health Belief Model explains preventive and emergency-related behaviours through perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and cues to action. Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory emphasizes learning through concrete experience, reflection, conceptualization, and practical application, making it particularly relevant to emergency and first-aid training. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a comprehensive framework for explaining how emergency preparedness education may influence first-aid practices among secondary school teachers in Nigeria. The study adopts a quantitative quasi-experimental research design. Primary data will be collected from teachers in selected public and private secondary schools in Nigeria using a structured questionnaire, practical skills assessment, and where feasible, an observational checklist. A multistage sampling technique will be employed to select states, local government areas, schools, and eligible teachers. Where feasible, selected schools will be assigned to intervention and comparison groups. Teachers in the intervention group will receive structured emergency preparedness education covering basic first aid, management of bleeding, burns, fractures, choking, fainting, seizures, minor injuries, emergency communication, evacuation procedures, referral, and basic life-support principles appropriate to their level of training. First-aid practices will be assessed using indicators such as appropriate response to common school emergencies, correct application of first-aid procedures, use of available first-aid equipment, appropriate referral practices, emergency communication, and avoidance of potentially harmful first-aid responses. Practical skills assessments will be used where feasible to complement self-reported practices. Data will be collected before and after the educational intervention to determine changes in teachers' first-aid knowledge and practices. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize teachers' sociodemographic and professional characteristics, previous emergency training, and first-aid practices. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, paired-sample tests, independent-sample tests, and multiple regression analysis, will be employed to determine the influence of emergency preparedness education on first-aid practices. Appropriate diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability of the research instrument, model assumptions, and robustness of the findings. The study anticipates that emergency preparedness education will have a significant positive influence on first-aid practices among secondary school teachers in Nigeria. Teachers who receive structured emergency preparedness education are expected to demonstrate improved knowledge, greater confidence, and better practical skills in responding to common school emergencies. Education may improve teachers' ability to assess emergency situations, provide appropriate immediate care, use first-aid materials correctly, communicate with emergency services, and refer injured or ill students promptly to healthcare facilities. However, education alone may not guarantee appropriate first-aid practices when schools lack functional first-aid kits, trained health personnel, emergency communication systems, or clear emergency-response protocols. Regular refresher training and practical skills reinforcement may also be necessary to maintain competence over time. Consequently, emergency preparedness education is expected to be most effective when supported by adequate school health infrastructure, accessible first-aid supplies, clear emergency procedures, and regular practical training. This study is expected to contribute to the literature on school health, injury prevention, emergency preparedness, first aid, occupational and public health in Nigeria by providing empirical evidence on the relationship between emergency preparedness education and first-aid practices among secondary school teachers. The findings will provide useful information for the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Federal Ministry of Education, state ministries of health and education, school administrators, teachers, school health coordinators, emergency management agencies, first-aid organizations, and policymakers regarding strategies for strengthening emergency preparedness in schools. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for integrating standardized first-aid and emergency preparedness training into teacher development programmes, ensuring adequate first-aid equipment in schools, establishing school emergency-response protocols, conducting regular refresher training, strengthening referral systems, and incorporating practical emergency drills into school health and safety programmes across Nigeria.

Keywords: Emergency preparedness education, first-aid practices, secondary school teachers, school health, emergency response, injury prevention, first aid, health education, emergency preparedness, public health, Nigeria.