Knowledge of and willingness to perform Hands-Only cardiopulmonary resuscitation among college students in Malaysia

Abstract

Worldwide, millions of people die of sudden cardiac arrest every year. This is partly due to limited and sometimes ineffective bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The need for mouth-to-mouth contact, fear of causing harm, litigation, and the complexity of delivering CPR are the main deterrents. In view of this, the basic life support algorithm has been simplified and lay rescuers are encouraged to perform Hands-Only CPR. The objective of this study is to assess knowledge on and willingness to perform Hands-Only CPR among Malaysian college students and to determine the relationship between the two. In an online self-administered survey, college students responded to a questionnaire on demographics, exposure to CPR, knowledge on Hands-Only CPR, and their willingness to perform Hands-Only CPR in 5 different scenarios (family members or relatives, strangers, trauma victims, children, and elderly people). Data for 393 participants were analyzed. For knowledge, the mean score was 8.6 ± 3.2 and the median score was 9. In the sample, 27% of the respondents did not attend any CPR training before, citing that they were unsure where to attend the course. The knowledge score among those who attended CPR training (M = 3.6, S = 2.9) was significantly higher compared to those who did not (M = 6.7, S = 3.0). Out of the 393 participants, 67.7%, 55%, 37.4%, 45%, and 49.1% were willing to perform Hands-Only CPR on family members or relatives, strangers, trauma victims, children, and elderly people, respectively. There were significant associations (P < .001) between knowledge and willing to perform Hands-Only CPR on family members or relatives (OR = 1.32, 95% CI 1.43, 1.43), strangers (OR = 1.31, 95% CI 1.21, 1.42), trauma victims (OR = 1.21, 95% CI 1.12, 1.31), children (OR = 1.28, 95% CI 1.19, 1.39), and elderly people (OR = 1.36 95% CI 1.25, 1.48). Based on this study, knowledge on Hands-Only CPR among local college students is not encouraging. Not many know where to attend such courses. There was significant association between knowledge and willingness to perform Hands-Only CPR.

Conocimiento actual de la reanimación cardiopulmonar en la población universitaria del centro-occidente de México

“…33 Compared with other series, our cohort has lower rates of previous CPR training against developed and high-income countries (as Norway, Denmark, USA, Portugal, and Japan) 19,21,28,29,31 but is similar to those found in upper-middle, lower-middle and low-income countries (as China, Turkey, and Malaysia). 17,34 Unfortunately, to this date, Mexico has no programs to implement mandatory CPR training in the scholar curricula; we face several barriers to improve these health policies, especially their economic cost and trainer availability. 35 Although we did not find a significant difference between students' knowledge from the public and private universities, socioeconomic status is likely a key determinant of access to CPR learning and survival rates, 27,36 since many low-income students fail to reach a university education, we do not know their current status in our country.…”

Effects of a Clinical Simulation Course about Basic Life Support on Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Learning

“…In the study carried out by Rosell-Ortize et al [ 1 ], it was estimated that there were 20 cases per 100,000 habitants in Spain from 2013 to 2014. Despite significant advances in prevention, OHCA continues to be a major public health problem, as millions of people die from sudden cardiac arrest each year [ 8 , 9 ].…”

“…They further noted the importance of BLS and ALS training being incorporated into the nursing curriculum. Baldi et al [ 8 ] analyzed the knowledge of cardiac arrest and CPR of medical students in their final year of study from all over Europe and confirmed that their knowledge of cardiac arrest and CPR upon graduating was limited and needed to be improved. Another study evaluated the effects of an online BLS course on nursing students’ learning and noted that it was an effective method for teaching and learning key BLS skills, in which students were able to accurately apply BLS techniques during CPR simulation [ 15 ].…”

“…These researchers highlighted the importance of increasing public awareness and understanding of CPR as an essential strategy to increase CPR success in cardiac arrest cases [ 8 ]. Various studies exist that examine the knowledge, attitude, skills, and capability of university students regarding CPR [ 8 , 11 , 16 ] and their participation of BLS in many countries [ 8 , 14 , 17 , 18 ]. The results suggest that the students were aware of the importance of CPR training and were willing to act regardless of their low level of knowledge [ 18 ].…”

“…The aforementioned literature demonstrates that the majority of data obtained on this topic comes from research carried out in countries other than Spain [ 5 , 8 , 17 , 19 ]. If school-age children are familiar with CPR [ 13 , 19 ] then nursing students should undoubtedly be able to initiate and perform effective CPR when they begin their nursing careers [ 29 ].…”