Basic Life Support Knowledge Among a Nonmedical Population in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: Cross-Sectional Study (Preprint)

Abstract

BACKGROUND Providing basic life support (BLS) at the site of an accident is crucial to increase the survival rates of the injured people. It is especially relevant when health care is far away. OBJECTIVE The aim of our study is to assess the BLS knowledge level of the Saudi Arabian population and identify influencing factors associated with level of knowledge about BLS. METHODS Our study is a cross-sectional descriptive study, which was conducted using a self-administered online questionnaire derived from the BLS practice test. The Saudi population was the target population. The questionnaire was divided into two parts: one contained demographic data and the second part contained questions to test the population’s perception about how to perform BLS techniques properly. The data were collected between July and August 2017. Statistically significant differences were defined as those with a P value <.05, and a score of five or more was considered a passing score on the second part. We used SPSS version 21 for data analysis. RESULTS Our study included 301 participants. Our participants’ BLS online exam scores ranged from 0 to 10, with a mean of 4.1 (SD 1.7). Only 39.2% (118/301) of the participants passed the test. The percentage of bachelor’s degree or higher holders constituted 60.1% (181/301) of the study population. In addition, higher income was significantly associated with higher scores on the test (P=.04). CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrated that the theoretical knowledge level of BLS among the general population in Jeddah was below average. There is a critical need to increase the public’s exposure to BLS education through raising awareness campaigns and government-funded training programs that aim to curb the incidence of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest mortalities in the Saudi community.

Public knowledge and attitude toward basic life support in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

“…5,16 In contrast with a cross-sectional study conducted in Jeddah found that there was no significant correlation between the total score and the education level. 8 Since the data is gathered only from the Saudi citizens, our results might be affected by differences in cultural and ethical backgrounds and other social circumstances that might differ in comparison with those of other countries. This considered as a strength point in our study in addition to the large sample size.…”

“…Similar observations were reported elsewhere, emphasizing the poor knowledge levels amongst participants. 8,9,11,12,14,[17][18][19] More than half of population reported the internet and social media as key sources of BLS information, which is a great chance to raise awareness through realistic techniques (e.g., video-assisted instruction) via CPR training organizations On the other hand, more than a quarter of teachers in Hebron, Palestine, considered television the fundamental source as the majority of them aged from 30-39. 16 Unlike our study, (67.6%) aged from 18-39 which explained by more time consumption in social media and internet is high among younger population.…”

“…7 The lack of training and incapacity to address these emergencies may have tragic and legal consequences that can be prevented with simple maneuvers and skills. 8 According to several studies conducted in different countries around the world, most of those who witnessed Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) are nonhealthcare providers who did not perform CPR in response to the situation due to the lack of sufficient theoretical understanding on acting in such critical cases. [9][10][11][12] Subki et al conducted a cross-sectional study in 2018 investigating public awareness toward BLS and found that the knowledge was below average in the Jeddah population.…”

“…More public exposure to BLS education through awareness-raising and training programs is needed. 8 Another cross-sectional study was done in Al-Qassim City, Saudi Arabia, among secondary school teachers, it revealed that almost half of them scored less than 50%. 13 While another local study took place at King Saud University in Riyadh resulted in lacking BLS awareness among students, however, positive attitudes were preserved.…”

“…14 Locally, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), current studies suggest that citizens have inadequate levels of BLS knowledge and attitude. 5,8,13,14 Up to our knowledge, the available data mostly focuses on health care providers knowledge towered BLS especially in the western area. There is a single study conducted in Jeddah and aimed to assess the BLS knowledge among Saudi population and identify the factors affected the level of BLS knowledge, however, the attitude was not assessed.…”