Empowering young people: evaluating the impact of KnifeSavers—a knife wound first aid and awareness intervention in England

Abstract Aim Interpersonal violence involving a knife or sharp weapon is a serious public health concern. KnifeSavers is a 2-hour educational intervention delivered to school and college students in the Liverpool City Region (United Kingdom) in partnership with the Liverpool Football Club Foundation (LFCF). It aims to educate young people about the impacts of knife injury and equip them with the skills and confidence to control bleeding from a knife wound. This study aims to examine the impacts of the intervention on young people’s knowledge of knife injury, attitudes towards knife carrying and confidence assisting a victim. Subject and methods Surveys were administered to young people prior to ( n = 110) and following the intervention ( n = 72) to measure knowledge of knife injury, attitudes towards knife carrying and confidence to assist a victim. Nonparametric tests (Mann–Whitney U ) were used to measure any significant changes. Thematic analysis of young people’s qualitative responses captured the impact of the programme. Results There was a statistically significant increase in knowledge of knife injury risks (pre-mean = 5.9, post-mean = 7.7, p < .001) and confidence in assisting a victim (pre-mean = 2.8, post-mean = 3.7, p < .001) post-intervention. Attitude towards knife carrying showed no significant change (pre-mean = 19.7, post-mean = 20.3, p < .227). Conclusion The KnifeSavers programme had a positive impact on young people’s knowledge of knife injury and confidence to support victims. Our study shows that collaborative interventions between medical professionals and prominent sporting organisations like LFCF can successfully engage young people in knife injury education.