Evaluating the awareness of ordinary people about relief operations and cardiopulmonary resuscitation when facing out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this paper is to evaluate the awareness of ordinary people about relief operations and accurate cardiopulmonary resuscitation when facing out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study including 500 ordinary people who were randomly selected over a 3-month period in Ahvaz County, Ahvaz, Iran, and then asked to perform resuscitation operation on medical moulages. Their performance was then evaluated using a 21-item checklist. RESULTS: The awareness of participants about relief operations were only acceptable in 9 cases. Only 1 (0.2%) of them was able to detect a pulse and blood circulation as well as to relieve any airway obstruction. 7 (1.4%) were able to correctly find the position on the chest where external cardiac massage (ECM) should be performed. And only 1 could perform ECM at a rate of 100-120 compressions/min. CONCLUSION: Results obtained from the present study does not confirm the awareness of ordinary people when encountering OHCA. Hence, it is essential to hold related training courses at appropriate intervals to improve their skills and knowledge.