Knowledge about basic life support in higher education health students

Abstract

Background: Cardiac arrest (CA) is a serious problem that requires the immediate intervention of third parties using basic life support (BLS). Objectives: To assess higher education health students’ knowledge about BLS and analyze the associations between level of knowledge and sociodemographic, academic, and socio-educational variables. Methodology: Quantitative correlational cross-sectional study in a sample of higher education students. Results: The sample consisted of 683 students, with a mean age of 21 years, mostly women. The mean knowledge score was 11.79 points, on a scale of 0 to 20. There was a statistically significant association between the level of knowledge and the program, the year of study, having attended a BLS course/ training, and having attended course units with BLS content. Conclusion: The mean scores reflect a sufficient level of knowledge, with the following groups obtain-ing higher scores: 4th-year students, nursing program, and previous BLS training.