{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]],"date-time":"2026-07-14T09:09:46Z","timestamp":1784020186675,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,18]],"date-time":"2025-12-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1766016000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,21]],"date-time":"2026-01-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1768953600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":34,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["BMC Emerg Med"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Choking is a critical medical emergency caused by the obstruction of airway due to foreign objects. Timely and appropriate first aid is essential to prevent further complications and save the lives of choking victims, especially children. However, inadequate knowledge of first aid management in choking can lead to delayed or incorrect interventions, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality among children. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the level of knowledge and identify the sources of information regarding first aid management of choking among parents whose children were admitted to a Specialized Children Hospital, Sri Lanka.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out including 425 parents of children admitted to Sirimavo Bandaranayake Specialized Children Hospital, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data on socio demographic characteristics, awareness of potential choking hazards and first aid management. Collected data were analyzed using SPSS software. The knowledge was categorized as good or poor using a 50% cut-off value.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Majority of caregivers were mothers (\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u2009343, 80.7%). Overall, 38.8% of participants demonstrated good knowledge regarding choking first aid with the mean knowledge score (12.8\u2009\u00b1\u20093.95). Although general awareness of choking first aid was high (87.8%), only 18.8% had received prior first aid training. The main sources of information included healthcare professionals (53.1%), media (46.9%), and family members (41.6%). Notably, 21.9% correctly identified universal sign of choking as clutching the throat, and 50.8% recognized the symptoms of complete airway obstruction. However, only 10.4% were aware that first aid for choking should be initiated within three minutes. However, no significant association was identified between the knowledge of first aid for choking children with first aid training, male gender, age and educational attainment of their parents.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Parental knowledge regarding the first-aid management of choking is insufficient. Parents with prior first-aid training demonstrated better knowledge. Implementing parental education programs and comprehensive first aid training would enhance knowledge and skills in managing choking incidents and reducing childhood morbidity and mortality.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s12873-025-01450-2","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,18]],"date-time":"2025-12-18T07:04:25Z","timestamp":1766041465000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Knowledge and first aid management of choking children among parents in a tertiary care hospital, Sri Lanka"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"26","author":[{"given":"Nammuni Kushmitha Keshara","family":"Thabrew","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shasanthi Lakshika","family":"Udawaththa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ransi Nimesha","family":"Thenuwara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Savindi Chamathika","family":"Tissera","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Erandi Uthpala","family":"Siriwardhana","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Subangi","family":"Sivaganeshan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Deegoda Gamage Dewni","family":"Tharushika","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Heseetha","family":"Thananchayan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Majury","family":"Thirugnanaselvan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nisal Dulanjith","family":"Sooriyaarachchi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shanmugaratnam","family":"Sivakumar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Samath Dhamminda","family":"Dharmaratne","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lahiru Sandaruwan","family":"Galgamuwa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,18]]},"reference":[{"issue":"7","key":"1450_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0255331","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0255331","volume":"16","author":"AM Issack","year":"2021","unstructured":"Issack AM, Jiru T, Aniley AW. 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Ethical approval of this study was obtained from the Ethical Review Committee of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya on October 2022. Then, the permission to conduct the study in the hospital was obtained from the Director of Sirimavo Bandaranayake Specialized Children\u2019s Hospital, Peradeniya and Consultant Pediatricians of the relevant wards. Participants were informed about objectives of the study, and the confidentiality of collected data, emphasizing that only the research team would have access to the data. A consent form was attached to the questionnaire to ensure voluntary participation, maintaining participant autonomy. In addition, participants were instructed that their decision to participate or decline would not affect any services they received at the hospital. It was also explicitly mentioned that no financial benefits would be provided for participation. Participants were informed that they could decline participation or withdraw from the study at any point, even after providing initial consent. They were allowed a reasonable time to decide on voluntary participation before written consent was obtained. To ensure anonymity, the questionnaire did not collect any personal identification data; instead, identification numbers were assigned to each questionnaire. Written consent that was obtained from all of the participants was informed regarding the objectives and the procedure of the study.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Ethics approval and consent to participate"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Consent for publication"}},{"value":"The authors declare no competing interests.","order":4,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Competing interests"}}],"article-number":"24"}}