Original Survey of Knowledge and Attitude About Basic Life Support and Advanced Cardiac Life Support Among Healthcare Professionals
Abstract
Background: Basic life support (BLS) focuses on providing immediate care to victims of cardiac arrest and other emergency situations. It offers simple, yet effective interventions that can sustain life until professional medical help arrives. Advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) builds upon the fundamentals of BLS but incorporates more advanced medical techniques and interventions. It is intended for healthcare professionals (including doctors, nurses, paramedics, and respiratory therapists). Our study aims to assess the knowledge and attitude of healthcare providers towards BLS and ACLS. Identify the advantages of undergoing formal, certified training in BLS and ACLS, and provide recommendations regarding formal training in BLS & ACLS. Material & Method: A questionnaire with 18 questions, which helped in understanding the demography of the volunteers, was prepared to assess their knowledge of BLS/ACLS. It also helped in understanding the attitude of healthcare workers towards formal training in BLS/ACLS. The study was conducted over 03 months in a tertiary care hospital in Mumbai, India. Results: 20% ( n = 37) of our volunteers did not know how to activate the Code Blue System. While 90.7% ( n = 166) of our CPR givers knew the vital characteristics of a first-rate CPR, only 55.7% ( n = 102) knew the correct sequence of steps in BLS for adults. Out of the 183 healthcare workers who participated in the survey, 96.72% ( n = 177) of the total participants felt that a formal certification course must be made mandatory for all healthcare providers. However, only 42.08% ( n = 77) of them had undergone such training. Conclusion: Although a large majority of the healthcare workers agreed to the necessity for formal certification training in BLS/ACLS, only 42.08% ( n = 77) had undergone such training/certification. The study proves that formal training in BLS/ACLS is beneficial and translates to better outcomes.