Knowledge of Basic Life Support Among Doctors and Nurses Attending a Refresher Course in a Teaching Hospital in Southwest Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Poor knowledge of Basic Life Support (BLS) can lead to hesitation in delivering the prompt intervention, thus increasing mortality in people with cardiac arrest. We set out to determine the level of knowledge of Basic Life Support among doctors and nurses working in a teaching hospital in Nigeria.

Methodology: Self-administered questionnaires were employed in a descriptive, cross-sectional study to assess the knowledge of doctors and nurses. The overall knowledge score and separate scores for doctors and nurses were calculated. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 20.

Results: Two hundred and fifty participants (18-59) years were evaluated. There were more females (153, 61.2%) and more nurses (149, 59.8%). Sixty (24%) participants had received at least one previous BLS training. One hundred and one (40.4%) participants scored ≥50%. The overall average score was 43.6%. The average score for doctors and nurses was 45.1% and 42.7%, respectively. Knowledge in some domains was very low, viz: sequence in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (2.8%), compression-to-breath ratio (2.8%) and compression rate (32.3%). There was no significant difference in knowledge score by profession, gender, previous exposure to BLS training, number of years post-qualified and number of years in service.

Conclusion: Healthcare workers in Nigeria have poor knowledge of BLS. They require training and re-training in BLS via creative and innovative means that are best suited for resource-poor countries.