Awareness of Secondary School Students regarding Basic Life Support in Abha City, Southern Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Survey

BACKGROUND: Basic life support (BLS) is a level of medical care that is used for individuals with life-threatening illnesses or injuries until they can be given full medical care at a hospital. It can be provided by trained medical personnel, including emergency medical technicians and paramedics, and by qualified bystanders. Vital areas of adult BLS include immediate identification of sudden cardiac arrest and activation of the emergency response system, early performance of high-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and rapid defibrillation, when appropriate. AIM: To assess the awareness of secondary school students regarding BLS in Abha City, Saudi Arabia. Methodology. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted targeting all accessible secondary school students in Abha City during the academic years 2018-2019. After explaining the objectives and importance of the research topic, all students in the three grades were invited to complete the study questionnaire. The questionnaire was developed by the researchers after reviewing the literature for related topics and consulting an expert for any additions or modifications. RESULTS: The study included 761 students with ages ranging from 15 to 20 years and a mean age of 17 ± 1 years old. Male students accounted for 53.6% of the participants, and 96.7% of the participants were Saudi. Exactly 31% of the students had had a BLS training course, among which 79.2% had had training that lasted for only one day. Regarding awareness, 65% of the students had heard about BLS, and 44% knew about CPR. Exactly 52% of the students indicated that they should call the ER if there was a case with fainting. A total of 45.3% of the students reported that airway checking was the first step in CPR, and 16.7% reported that the chest compression to oral breathing ratio should be 30 to 2. Conclusions and Recommendations. In conclusion, the study revealed that poor awareness regarding BLS was present among the students. The researchers concluded that less than one-third of the students had BLS training. BLS should be taught, theoretically and practically (with simulations), to middle and high school students as BLS involves relatively simple concepts and methods.