Knowledge of Basic Life Support Among Health Care Professional Working in Tertiary Care Hospitals of KP (Pakistan)

Abstract

The study objective was to assess healthcare professional knowledge and practice about basic life support. Sufficient knowledge and professional training about Basic Life Support (BLS) is essential for all hospital healthcare professionals. To prevent death, every second is very precious; therefore, utilizing knowledge, skills and time management is the key to success in case of a medical emergency. The design for the study was a cross-sectional study conducted in the tertiary care hospitals of KP, Pakistan. The sample size for the study was 237, while the period was one month (15th September 2022 to 15th October 2022). All healthcare workers were included, although those having less than six months of experience, unwilling, student and internees were excluded. An adopted questionnaire was used consisting of two sections. The primary section contains demographic information, while the following section contains fundamental questions about BLS. Among 237 participants (68.77%) were male, while (31.2%) were female. A considerable number, 189 (79.7%) of the participants were nurses. Almost all participants had sufficient experience in critical units; 181 (76.3%) participants had performed CPR in adults, while 50.6% performed in pediatric patients more than four times throughout their professional careers. Most healthcare professionals have many years of experience in critical and with less knowledge about BLS, and many of them still need to refresh their knowledge once trained.