Abdullah AKKUŞ, Fatih ERCAN, Nefise Betül ERCAN, Mehtap YÜCEL, Hurşit FERAHKAYA, Zeynep Naz YILMAZ, Çağla Nur YILMAZ, Elif Ceyda YILMAZ, Şeyda YILMAZ, Sümeyye YILMAZ, Gülşen İrem ZORLU, İkbal Bahar YILMAZ, Tuba YURTSEVEN, Muhammed Orkun YILMAZ, Mert YILMAZ, Kaan Kadir DAMKACI, Mustafa BÜYÜKAVCI
The Journal of Pediatric Academy - 2026;7(1):35-41
The objective of this study was to evaluate baseline knowledge and awareness of the Heimlich maneuver among parents of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and to assess the effectiveness of a structured educational intervention on airway obstruction recognition, prevention, and first aid practices. This survey-based pre-post interventional study included 66 parents of individuals with ASD. A 19-item questionnaire assessing knowledge of the causes and symptoms of airway obstruction, preventive measures, and Heimlich maneuver techniques for infants, children, and adults was administered before and after an educational session delivered by intern physicians under specialist supervision. At baseline, 87.9% of participants had never received training on the Heimlich maneuver, and only 31.8% correctly identified differences among infant, child, and adult techniques. After training, the correct identification rate increased to 95.5% (p<0.001). The proportion of participants anticipating difficulty in performing the maneuver decreased from 53.0% to 34.8%, while those reporting it as generally easy increased to 59.1% (p<0.001). Knowledge of the causes of airway obstruction, signs of partial and complete obstruction, appropriate first-aid responses, and preventive measures improved significantly across most items (p<0.05). Knowledge of the application of the infant Heimlich maneuver increased from 30.3% to 100% following training. Parents of individuals with ASD demonstrated limited baseline knowledge of the Heimlich maneuver. A brief, structured educational intervention significantly improved awareness, confidence, and knowledge related to airway obstruction management, highlighting the importance of targeted caregiver education in this high-risk population.
