An intervention study on basic life support for physicians and family health personnels working in family health centres in Denizli city centre

SUMMARY An Intervention Study on Basic Life Support for Physicians and Family Health Personnels Working in Family Health Centres in Denizli City Centre Dr Merve OKTA Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is among the leading causes of death in many countries. SCA can occur in many different places, such as in a hospital, family health centres, different health institutions. Therefore, the chain of survival must be managed very well, either alone or as a team. Between 1 November 2022 and 1 November 2023, the study was conducted with 356 healthcare workers from 54 family health centres in Denizli province. In the first phase of the cross-sectional study, it was aimed to determine the level of basic life support knowledge and behaviours according to the basic life support guideline published by the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) in 2021, to determine the possible effects of sociodemographic characteristics on these, and to determine the effect of the training on the level of knowledge. In the second stage, the effect of the training on the short-term (immediately after the training) knowledge level and thoughts was investigated by considering the current guideline. It was stated that 95.5% (n=343) of the participants knew what basic life support was, 82.8% (n=298) had received basic life support training previously, 22.8% (n=66) had received basic life support before graduation, 58.8% (n=161) had received basic life support once, 71.0% (n=186) had received basic life support training more than 5 years ago. Only 21.5% (n=77) of the participants stated that they followed the resuscitation guidelines. The scores of the correct answers given to a total of 13 knowledge questions before and after the training were 8.59±2.88 for the pre-training test (PTT) and 11.81±1.70 for the post-training test (PST). When the PTT and PST scores were compared with those who had received basic life support training previously, they were found to be significantly higher (p<0.001; p=0.032). When the training given was analysed in the short term, it was effective in terms of knowledge level and feeling competent about cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Periodic theoretical and practical courses and trainings based on science and guidelines will help us to refresh and update our knowledge, to be aware of and follow the guidelines, and to take the right steps at the right time. Key words: basic cardiac life support, primary care, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, knowledge, heart arrest.