Health education strategies for teaching airway obstruction relief maneuvers

Abstract

Objective: To map and analyze health education strategies used for teaching foreign body airway obstruction (FBAO) maneuvers. Methods: A scoping review conducted according to the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) recommendations and reported following the PRISMA-ScR checklist. Searches were performed in PubMed/MEDLINE and LILACS/BVS databases, complemented by manual searches in strategic journals. Studies published between 2014 and 2024, in Portuguese, English, and Spanish, freely available in full text, were included. Grey literature, duplicates, and restricted-access articles were excluded. Results: The final sample consisted of 23 national and international studies, mostly published in English and adopting quasi-experimental designs. Interventions targeted schoolchildren, university students, healthcare professionals, teachers, and laypeople. Main strategies included theoretical-practical workshops, realistic simulations, and digital technologies such as mobile applications, educational videos, virtual reality, augmented reality, and serious games. Overall, studies reported significant improvements in knowledge, confidence, and practical performance of participants after training. Final considerations: Evidence indicates that active methods and technological resources applied to health education on FBAO have a positive impact on learning and may contribute to reducing morbidity and mortality. However, further studies are needed to assess the effectiveness of emerging technologies and the long-term retention of knowledge.