Kids Save Lives Malaysia Handbook for Primary School Children: Development and Usability Study

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is an important global public health issue that leads to death if not recognised and managed early. Integrating Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) as part of the educational school programs will increase trained resuscitators within the community. Unfortunately, CPR courses are only available voluntarily, and not part of the Malaysian national curriculum. We report the development of the KIDS SAVE LIVES MALAYSIA (KSLM) handbook for primary school students in Malaysia. An in-depth review of the latest literature, adapting and adopting relevant guidelines for the handbook was conducted. Next, experts ranging from certified American Heart Association (AHA) instructors, language, and primary school teachers were appointed for content validity. Lastly, the drafted handbook was further tested to determine the usability of selected year 4 - 6 students. All items had an I-CVI and S-CVI of 1.00. Four students passed the knowledge test whilst 18 of the students passed the technical skills test. On average, year four (age 10) students’ knowledge and technical skills scores were the highest. As for attitude, year five (age 11) exhibit the highest score. A MANOVA analysis yielded significant effect of the students’ age on the technical skills, F (2,35) = 10.29, p < .001, partial η2 = .370 and attitude, F (2,35) = 13.87, p < .001, partial η2 = .442. The outcomes of this preliminary study make the KSLM handbook worthy of future application towards primary school students across Malaysia.