Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Basic Life Support Among Health Students at a Saudi Women’s University
Objectives: Awareness of basic life support (BLS) is paramount to ensure the provision of essential life-saving medical care in emergency situations. This study aimed to measure knowledge of BLS and attitudes towards BLS training among female health students at a women’s university in Saudi Arabia. ...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Sultan Qaboos University
2017-02-01
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Series: | Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal |
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Online Access: | https://journals.squ.edu.om/index.php/squmj/article/view/1817 |
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author | Maha A. Al-Mohaissen |
author_facet | Maha A. Al-Mohaissen |
author_sort | Maha A. Al-Mohaissen |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Objectives: Awareness of basic life support (BLS) is paramount to ensure the provision of essential life-saving medical care in emergency situations. This study aimed to measure knowledge of BLS and attitudes towards BLS training among female health students at a women’s university in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study took place between January and April 2016 at five health colleges of the Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. All 2,955 students attending the health colleges were invited to participate in the study. Participants were subsequently asked to complete a validated Englishlanguage questionnaire which included 21 items assessing knowledge of BLS and six items gauging attitudes to BLS. Results: A total of 1,349 students completed the questionnaire (response rate: 45.7%). The mean overall knowledge score was very low (32.7 ± 13.9) and 87.9% of the participants had very poor knowledge scores. A total of 32.5% of the participants had never received any BLS training. Students who had previously received BLS training had significantly higher knowledge scores (P <0.001), although their knowledge scores remained poor. Overall, 77.0% indicated a desire to receive additional BLS training and 78.5% supported mandatory BLS training. Conclusion: Overall knowledge about BLS among the students was very poor; however, attitudes towards BLS training were positive. These findings call for an improvement in BLS education among Saudi female health students so as to ensure appropriate responses in cardiac arrest or other emergency situations. |
first_indexed | 2024-12-10T19:23:13Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-6ba4ad89edbd4d7a8246e350b9294c85 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2075-051X 2075-0528 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-12-10T19:23:13Z |
publishDate | 2017-02-01 |
publisher | Sultan Qaboos University |
record_format | Article |
series | Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal |
spelling | doaj.art-6ba4ad89edbd4d7a8246e350b9294c852022-12-22T01:36:26ZengSultan Qaboos UniversitySultan Qaboos University Medical Journal2075-051X2075-05282017-02-01171596510.18295/squmj.2016.17.01.0111741Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Basic Life Support Among Health Students at a Saudi Women’s UniversityMaha A. Al-Mohaissen0Department of Clinical Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaObjectives: Awareness of basic life support (BLS) is paramount to ensure the provision of essential life-saving medical care in emergency situations. This study aimed to measure knowledge of BLS and attitudes towards BLS training among female health students at a women’s university in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study took place between January and April 2016 at five health colleges of the Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. All 2,955 students attending the health colleges were invited to participate in the study. Participants were subsequently asked to complete a validated Englishlanguage questionnaire which included 21 items assessing knowledge of BLS and six items gauging attitudes to BLS. Results: A total of 1,349 students completed the questionnaire (response rate: 45.7%). The mean overall knowledge score was very low (32.7 ± 13.9) and 87.9% of the participants had very poor knowledge scores. A total of 32.5% of the participants had never received any BLS training. Students who had previously received BLS training had significantly higher knowledge scores (P <0.001), although their knowledge scores remained poor. Overall, 77.0% indicated a desire to receive additional BLS training and 78.5% supported mandatory BLS training. Conclusion: Overall knowledge about BLS among the students was very poor; however, attitudes towards BLS training were positive. These findings call for an improvement in BLS education among Saudi female health students so as to ensure appropriate responses in cardiac arrest or other emergency situations.https://journals.squ.edu.om/index.php/squmj/article/view/1817basic cardiac life supporthealth occupations studentsmedical educationknowledgeattitudessaudi arabia. |
spellingShingle | Maha A. Al-Mohaissen Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Basic Life Support Among Health Students at a Saudi Women’s University Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal basic cardiac life support health occupations students medical education knowledge attitudes saudi arabia. |
title | Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Basic Life Support Among Health Students at a Saudi Women’s University |
title_full | Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Basic Life Support Among Health Students at a Saudi Women’s University |
title_fullStr | Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Basic Life Support Among Health Students at a Saudi Women’s University |
title_full_unstemmed | Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Basic Life Support Among Health Students at a Saudi Women’s University |
title_short | Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Basic Life Support Among Health Students at a Saudi Women’s University |
title_sort | knowledge and attitudes towards basic life support among health students at a saudi women s university |
topic | basic cardiac life support health occupations students medical education knowledge attitudes saudi arabia. |
url | https://journals.squ.edu.om/index.php/squmj/article/view/1817 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT mahaaalmohaissen knowledgeandattitudestowardsbasiclifesupportamonghealthstudentsatasaudiwomensuniversity |