Knowledge and Attitude about Basic Life Support and Emergency Medical Services amongst Healthcare Interns in University Hospitals: A Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Road traffic accident and sudden cardiac arrest are one of the most leading causes of death in KSA. Basic life support (BLS) is lifesaving intervention as a premedical facility. Adequate knowledge and awareness about BLS and CPR are mandatory for healthcare students. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the present study is to assess the knowledge, awareness and attitude towards BLS among healthcare interns in different university hospitals across Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods. A total of 865 health interns attending the health colleges (Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy) in the University Hospitals across KSA participated in the study. A self-explanatory questionnaire, comprising of 15 questions, was designed for the study. All the hypotheses were formulated using two-tailed alternatives against each null hypothesis. RESULT: Out of 865 subjects, 698 completed the survey with a response rate of (80.69%). The male to female sex ratio in the entire group of respondents was 1.44:1.00. Mean score about the awareness and knowledge of BLS and other emergency services among the participants was 2.74±1.02 and 4.02±1.56 respectively. Female participants revealed significantly higher awareness score than male (P-value<0.05). Medical interns showed higher awareness level compared to rest of all the faculty interns (P-value<0.01). There was no significant difference in the attitude of interns among the different faculties. 60 to 70% of interns had recommended to include BLS training in the university curriculum. CONCLUSION: Among the participants of the study, overall awareness score was average, whereas the knowledge score was below average. Further, the participants showed a positive attitude toward BLS training. An optimistic decision should be considered on the inclusion of Basic Life Support procedures in the university curriculum.