In a cross-sectional study evaluating parental first-aid awareness across Syria, 67.3 percent of surveyed parents demonstrated moderate knowledge of pediatric epistaxis management, while only 30.5 percent achieved scores classified as good. The investigation assessed how parents handle childhood nosebleeds, identifying widespread misconceptions regarding immediate practical intervention despite epistaxis being a common emergency that is typically manageable with simple first-aid measures.
Epistaxis represents a frequent emergency particularly among children, yet misconceptions regarding appropriate management remain common even among educated individuals. Because no prior study had assessed parental knowledge concerning epistaxis first aid in Syria, the researchers sought to evaluate knowledge levels among Syrian parents and identify specific demographic and informational factors associated with higher knowledge scores.
Conducted between December 2025 and February 2026 across different Syrian regions, the investigation surveyed a convenience sample of 643 parents aged 18 years or older who had at least one child under 18. Participants completed a validated self-administered online questionnaire adapted from an earlier Saudi Arabian study. The survey evaluated demographic characteristics, previous experience with epistaxis, information sources, and first-aid management, grading overall knowledge as poor for scores of 5 or less, moderate for 6 to 11, and good for 12 to 16.
Among the participants, 77.4 percent were women, 70.9 percent resided in urban settings, and 59.1 percent held a university degree or higher. Despite this educational level, critical misconceptions regarding practical management were documented: only 37 percent of respondents correctly identified the lower part of the nose as the appropriate site for compression, while 33 percent incorrectly believed the head should be tilted backward during a nosebleed. In addition, 92.8 percent of participants overestimated the quantity of bleeding considered clinically significant.
Statistical analyses using independent t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and a multivariable General Linear Model indicated that attendance at formal first-aid courses was not significantly associated with better knowledge scores (p = 0.16). In the multivariable model, age (p = 0.037), male gender (p = 0.013), employment in the medical field (p = 0.017), and information source (p = 0.015) were independent predictors of higher knowledge scores, with physician guidance emerging as the strongest predictor (partial eta squared = 0.015, B = 0.906, p = 0.002). The authors concluded that public health interventions should prioritize structured educational programmes designed to correct common practical errors.
Methodologically, the cross-sectional assessment utilized an online questionnaire instrument adapted and validated from previous research conducted in Saudi Arabia, enabling a structured evaluation across several core domains. The survey examined specific demographic indicators, parental history and previous experience with pediatric epistaxis incidents, the particular information channels utilized by caregivers, and objective knowledge regarding emergency first-aid protocols. For statistical processing, the researchers utilized IBM SPSS Statistics version 27. Group differences were evaluated through independent-sample t-tests and one-way analysis of variance, applying a predetermined threshold for statistical significance of p less than 0.05. To distinguish confounding factors and determine independent predictors of the overall continuous knowledge score, the authors subsequently implemented a multivariable General Linear Model.
The multivariable General Linear Model provided detailed insight into the determinants of parental competence, highlighting notable differences among demographic and informational variables. While participation in formal first-aid instruction failed to reach statistical significance (p = 0.16), several specific participant characteristics independently predicted higher total scores. Increasing parental age was positively associated with performance (p = 0.037), as was male gender (p = 0.013) and professional employment within the healthcare sector (p = 0.017). Furthermore, the specific source from which parents acquired their guidance emerged as a significant predictor (p = 0.015). Direct physician guidance demonstrated the most substantial impact within the multivariable framework, exhibiting an unstandardized regression coefficient of B = 0.906, a partial eta squared of 0.015, and a significance value of p = 0.002.
These analytical outcomes contextualize the practical misconceptions observed across the surveyed Syrian cohort, where moderate overall knowledge coincided with critical procedural misunderstandings. Although epistaxis remains an emergency typically responsive to straightforward first-aid techniques, only 37 percent of respondents accurately recognized the lower portion of the nose as the correct anatomical compression target. Similarly, one-third of parents erroneously endorsed tilting a child’s head backward during an active bleed, and 92.8 percent misjudged the volume of bleeding required to be clinically significant. Given that formal instruction was not associated with improved knowledge scores, the investigators emphasized that future public health initiatives must move beyond generic first-aid curricula to deliver structured, targeted educational programmes specifically designed to eliminate persistent operational errors.
Subject of Research: Parental knowledge and misconceptions regarding pediatric epistaxis first aid in Syria
Article Title: An assessment of parents’ knowledge regarding first aid for epistaxis among children in Syria: a cross-sectional survey study
Article References: Hamdi, M., Alayed, M., Asskar, M. N. S., Alsakher, H., Alashqar, B., Hammoude, O., Alayoubi, K., Alwaw, R., Zetani, B., Sakher, J., Bakr, M. B. A., Ataya, J., & Dandachli, M. N. (2026). An assessment of parents’ knowledge regarding first aid for epistaxis among children in Syria: a cross-sectional survey study. BMC Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-026-30290-3
Image Credits: AI Generated
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-026-30290-3
Keywords: epistaxis, pediatric first aid, nosebleed management, parental knowledge, cross-sectional study, Syria, public health education, emergency care, assessment, parents, knowledge, regarding
