Awareness and Perceptions of Basic Life Support (BLS) among Staff, Students and Abadina Residents of the University of Ibadan

Abstract

Background: Several studies have been conducted on knowledge of Basic Life Support (BLS) among health workers globally, including Nigeria. However, only few have been carried out among non-health workers, especially staff, students and residents of a higher institution in Nigeria. The study therefore assessed the awareness and perceptions of Basic Life Support among staff, students and residents of University of Ibadan. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional design was used for collecting data for this study. The questionnaire was in three sections, was semi-structured and self-administered based on the set objectives. Data collected were analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences version 21.0. Results: Majority of the respondents were not trained in BLS (77.7%), majority had poor awareness of BLS (61.3%) and a little above average (52.5%) had good perceptions about BLS. A significant number would rather offer BLS to a relative rather than a stranger (86.4%), quite a number would not offer BLS for the fear of harming victim’s bones and organs. Many would not offer BLS for the fear of making mistake (79.4%). Majority would not perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation for the fear of contracting infection (93.5%) while a sizeable number believed that BLS should only be performed by medical personnel (83.9%). Conclusion: Appropriate measures should be taken to improve on the awareness and perceptions of Basic Life Support so as to reduce deaths attributable to Out-of-Hospital-Cardiac-Arrest (OHCA), Sudden Cardiac Arrest.