Publication:

Knowledge and attitude of basic life support (BLS) among school teachers in Hebron, Palestine

Background Patients in all settings fully expect that they will be resuscitated if they have a cardiac arrest. It is therefore necessary to increase the number of qualified people, including school teachers and students who can play a vital role in performing basic and advanced cardiac life support at the scene of a medical emergency. Since life threatening events, such as cardiac arrest, must be responded to within six minutes, the retention of skills becomes a key concern in all urgent cases. The purpose of this study was to assess the existing knowledge of BLS among primary and secondary school teachers in Hebron, Palestine.

Methods After approval from Institute Ethical Committee and informed consent from the participant, the present study was conducted among primary and secondary school teachers. A self-administered questionnaire based on knowledge and attitude of BLS was used to collect data.

Results In general, only 42.5%of school teachers knew about CPR, but 57.5% had no previous information about CPR. Sources of information about CPR included television (26.5%), nurses and Drs (25.8), and the Internet (18.7%). Approximately 53% agreed that CPR training courses should be mandatory. Only 18.1% of teachers didn’t know the contact numbers for emergency services.

Conclusions This study has highlighted a critical issue that a majority of school teachers have limited knowledge about CPR. We recommend the mandatory implementation of CPR and basic life-support training for all school teachers across Palestine, and the need for incorporation of the BLS teaching into the Palestinian schools’ curricula without delay.