Basic life support knowledge, self-reported skills and fears in Danish high school students and
effect of a single 45-min training session run by junior doctors; a prospective cohort study
Sammanfattning
BACKGROUND:
Early recognition and immediate bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation are critical determinants of
survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Our aim was to evaluate current knowledge on
basic life support (BLS) in Danish high school students and benefits of a single training session run
by junior doctors.
METHODS:
Six-hundred-fifty-one students were included. They underwent one 45-minute BLS training session
including theoretical aspects and hands-on training with mannequins. The students completed a
baseline questionnaire before the training session and a follow-up questionnaire one week later. The
questionnaire consisted of an eight item multiple-choice test on BLS knowledge, a four-level
evaluation of self-assessed BLS skills and evaluation of fear based on a qualitative description and
visual analog scale from 0 to 10 for being first responder.
RESULTS:
Sixty-three percent of the students (413/651) had participated in prior BLS training. Only 28%
(179/651) knew how to correctly recognize normal breathing. The majority was afraid of exacerbating
the condition or causing death by intervening as first responder. The response rate at follow-up was
61% (399/651). There was a significant improvement in correct answers on the multiple-choice test (p
< .001). The proportion of students feeling well prepared to perform BLS increased from 30% to 90%
(p < .001), and the level of fear of being first responder was decreased 6.8 ± 2.2 to 5.5 ± 2.4 (p <
.001).
CONCLUSION:
Knowledge of key areas of BLS is poor among high school students. One hands-on training session
run by junior doctors seems to be efficient to empower the students to be first responders to OHCA.