Willingness and skills among students from non-health academic fields in providing efficient basic life support

• Published in: Clinics (São Paulo, Brazil) Brazil), 2024-01, Vol.79, p.100518, Article 100518
• Main Authors: Sugimoto, Perola Nakandakari, Gouvêa, Gabriela Buno, Salles, Igor Caitano, de Carvalho, Heráclito Barbosa, Aikawa, Priscila, Azi, Liana Maria Torres de Araújo, da Silva, Luiz Fernando Ferraz, Macchione, Mariangela, Semeraro, Federico, Lockey, Andrew, Greif, Robert, Carmona, Maria José Carvalho, Böttiger, Bernd Walter, Nakagawa, Naomi Kondo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acute myocardial infarction; Adolescent; Adult; Automated external defibrillator; Basic life support; Brazil; Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation; Clinical Competence; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Male; Medical students; Myocardial Infarction - psychology; Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest - therapy; Students - psychology; Students - statistics & numerical data; Sudden cardiac arrest; Surveys and Questionnaires; Universities; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1807-5932; 1980-5322; 1980-5322
• DOI: 10.1016/j.clinsp.2024.100518

•These findings reveal a stark difference in basic life support competencies between students in health-care related fields and those in non-health fields, emphasizing the need for universal basic life support training.•An action for curriculum modification to include basic life support training for all students is timely and practical, given the global burden of heart disease and the proven benefits of early intervention in sudden cardiac arrest cases.•This study contributes significantly to the ongoing discussion about health education and the role of non-health professionals in emergency medical response. It may serve as a catalyst for policy changes within educational institutions and among healthcare policymakers, aiming to create a more resilient and responsive community in the face of out-of-hospital medical emergencies. Education in basic life support is widely proposed to increase survival in out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest. The authors aimed to assess knowledge, skills, and attitudes, including willingness to help, regarding myocardial infarction and sudden cardiac arrest among university students of all fields of knowledge. An Ethical Research Committee approved this cross-sectional study. An electronic survey “KIDS SAVE LIVES BRAZIL” was sent to 58,862 students of 82 disciplines in three universities, aged ≥ 18 years. The survey covered three categories: knowledge, skills, and attitude. Each category was graded between 0 and 10 points (the highest). Among students, 4,803 undergraduates (8.2 %) answered the survey, and were divided into three groups of disciplines: medicine (219, ∼21.7 years, 38 % male), other-healthcare (n = 1,058; ∼22.9 years; 36 % male), and non-health-care (n = 3,526; ∼22.9 years; 35 % male). All three groups showed significant differences between them (p < 0.001). The non-health-care compared with medicine and other healthcare groups showed, respectively, the lowest median scores (25 %‒75 %) in knowledge (4.0 [0.0‒9.3], 4.0 [4.0‒8.0], and 4.0 [4.0‒4.7]), skills (2.4 [1.2‒3.3], 6.4 [4.0‒8.3], 4.0 [2.4‒6.2]), and attitude (5.9 [5.9‒6.8], 7.3 [5.9‒7.3], and 7.3 [5.9‒7.3]). University students who answered the e-survey have the willingness to help victims suffering from myocardial infarction or sustaining sudden cardiac arrest. However, non healthcare students markedly lack the knowledge and skills to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation and automated external defibrillation. These findings reveal a stark difference in b