Widening Participation from the Ground Up: Early Intervention in Primary Education to Improve Healthcare Opportunities

Access to medical careers has historically been limited for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. While widening participation (WP) efforts have primarily focused on secondary education, early career aspirations often develop between the ages of 9 and 11, making primary school interventions crucial. However, the impact of early healthcare exposure on children from WP backgrounds remains underexplored. To address this gap, we implemented a healthcare career intervention for Key Stage 2 (KS2) children from deprived communities, identified using the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) and POLAR4. The intervention consisted of three interactive sessions covering heart anatomy and function, CPR training, and healthcare role-play scenarios. Pre- and post-intervention questionnaires were used to assess changes in knowledge, skills, and career aspirations. Ethnicity was classified using standardised demographic categories. Our findings demonstrated significant improvements in children's knowledge of heart function (p<0.001), CPR (p<0.001), and healthcare roles (p<0.001), as assessed by Likert-scale questionnaires. Career aspirations also increased, with the percentage of children considering a healthcare career rising from 37% pre-intervention to 49% post-intervention (p<0.05). Learning CPR and other healthcare skills at an early age is valuable for all children but may be particularly impactful for those in disadvantaged communities, who often face greater health inequalities. The workshops also provided medical students with practical experience in engaging with children, highlighting potential benefits for broader healthcare student involvement. Despite aligning with the curriculum, school engagement proved challenging, underscoring the need for government-backed initiatives to integrate healthcare workshops into primary education. Introducing structured healthcare education at an early stage may help address inequalities in career access while equipping children with essential life-saving skills.

长期以来，弱势背景群体获取医疗行业职业机会的渠道始终受限。尽管扩大参与度（Widening Participation, WP）相关工作主要聚焦于中等教育，但儿童的早期职业志向往往在9至11岁间逐步成型，因此小学阶段的干预举措至关重要。然而，目前针对早期接触医疗行业对扩大参与度背景儿童的影响的研究仍较为匮乏。为填补这一研究空白，我们针对通过多重贫困指数（Index of Multiple Deprivation, IMD）与POLAR4划定的贫困社区的关键阶段2（Key Stage 2, KS2）儿童，开展了一项医疗职业启蒙干预项目。本次干预包含三场互动式活动，内容涵盖心脏解剖与生理功能、心肺复苏（Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, CPR）培训以及医疗角色扮演场景。我们通过干预前后的问卷评估了受试者在知识储备、技能水平与职业志向方面的变化，并采用标准化人口统计分类对种族信息进行归类。研究结果显示，经李克特量表（Likert-scale）问卷评估，儿童对心脏功能（p<0.001）、心肺复苏（p<0.001）以及医疗岗位职能（p<0.001）的认知均取得了显著提升。职业志向层面同样出现积极变化：有意向从事医疗行业的儿童占比从干预前的37%升至干预后的49%（p<0.05）。在低龄阶段学习心肺复苏与其他医疗技能，对所有儿童均具有积极价值，但对弱势背景群体的意义尤为突出——这类群体往往面临更为严重的健康不平等问题。本次工作坊同时为医学生提供了与儿童互动的实践经验，凸显了吸引更多医学生参与此类项目的潜在益处。尽管本项目与国家课程大纲相契合，但学校参与度仍存在挑战，这凸显了需要政府牵头推出相关举措，将医疗工作坊纳入小学教育体系。在低龄阶段引入系统化的医疗教育，或有助于缩小职业准入方面的不平等，同时为儿童掌握关键的救生技能提供支持。