First Aid Knowledge and Attitudes of Restaurant Employees in Foreign Body Aspiration Accidents: A District-Based Study in İstanbul

Aim: The aim of this study is to examine the level of first aid knowledge and attitudes of the personnel working in restaurant establishments in a selected district of İstanbul province. Materials and Methods:The sample of the study consists of 44 restaurant/restaurant employees.SPSS 22 Package Program was used to analyze the data.Results: Among participants, 31.8% had first aid knowledge-skills, 15.3% had encountered a tracheal foreign body incident, and 6.9% had intervened.Knowledge-skills specific to tracheal foreign body were present in 28.4%, and 19.3% held a first aid certificate; 59.6% were willing to receive training.Knowledge scores differed significantly by first aid knowledge-skills and by encountering or intervening in such cases.Attitude scores differed significantly by age, workplace position, years of employment, first aid knowledge-skills, prior intervention, and certification status. Conclusion:The rates of having first aid knowledge, skills, and prior intervention experience among restaurant employees were low despite their frontline role in settings where choking incidents are likely to occur.The strong association between higher knowledge and attitude scores and having first aid training or experience indicates that structured education can effectively improve preparedness.Given that most participants were willing to receive training, incorporating regular first aid and basic life support programs into workplace safety policies for the food service sector could strengthen bystander response and reduce preventable deaths from foreign body airway obstruction.