Assessment of nurses knowledge about cardiopulmonary resuscitation in intensive care units and emergency department in Iraq

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a crucial life-saving procedure used in emergency situations where an individual's heartbeat or breathing has stopped. Therefore, it is important that CPR be initiated immediately by people with adequate knowledge and skills. It is vital that nurses working in services such as emergency and intensive care, where the need for emergency resuscitation is high, have sufficient knowledge about CPR and manage emergency situations effectively. In this context, the aim of this study was to evaluate the level of knowledge of nurses working in emergency and intensive care units about CPR. The study was a descriptive cross sectional study, and the population consisted of nurses working in the intensive care and emergency departments of the Iraqi Nasiriyah Shatra general hospital. The study was conducted with 190 nurses between November 17 and December 10, 2023. A questionnaire form regarding sociodemographic data and a questionnaire form measuring the level of knowledge of nurses about cardiopulmonary resuscitation were used to collect the data. Number, percentage distributions, mean, standard deviation, one-way variance, and an independent sample t test were used to analyze the data. It was determined that 28.9% of the nurses participating in the study were between 26 and 30 years old, 58.4% were female, 53.2% resided in the province, and 67.9% were married. It was also determined that 42.1% had a bachelor's degree in nursing, 37.9% had 1–5 years of service in nursing, 55.3% worked in the emergency department, 55.8% had never received CPR training, and 35.8% performed CPR every day. It was determined that the level of CPR knowledge increased as the level of education increased, and the level of CPR knowledge of nurses who worked in the emergency department and practiced CPR on a daily basis was higher. According to the results of the study, it is recommended to provide training to increase the knowledge level of nurses on CPR to individual factors such as nurses' education level, working area, and practical experience when designing training programs.