Basic life support knowledge of first-year university students from Brazil

• Main Authors: S. V. Santos, M. R. R. A. Margarido, I. S. Caires, R. A. N. Santos, S. G. Souza, J. M. A. Souza, R. R. Martimiano, C. S. K. Dutra, P. Palha, A. C. G. Zanetti, A. Pazin-Filho
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Associação Brasileira de Divulgação Científica 2015-12-01
• Series: Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research
• Subjects: Basic life support; Undergraduate education; Cardiac arrest; Pre-hospital; First Aid
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0100-879X2015001201151&lng=en&tlng=en

We aimed to evaluate knowledge of first aid among new undergraduates and whether it is affected by their chosen course. A questionnaire was developed to assess knowledge of how to activate the Mobile Emergency Attendance Service - MEAS (Serviço de Atendimento Móvel de Urgência; SAMU), recognize a pre-hospital emergency situation and the first aid required for cardiac arrest. The students were also asked about enrolling in a first aid course. Responses were received from 1038 of 1365 (76.04%) new undergraduates. The questionnaires were completed in a 2-week period 1 month after the beginning of classes. Of the 1038 respondents (59.5% studying biological sciences, 11.6% physical sciences, and 28.6% humanities), 58.5% knew how to activate the MEAS/SAMU (54.3% non-biological vs 61.4% biological, P=0.02), with an odds ratio (OR)=1.39 (95%CI=1.07-1.81) regardless of age, sex, origin, having a previous degree or having a relative with cardiac disease. The majority could distinguish emergency from non-emergency situations. When faced with a possible cardiac arrest, 17.7% of the students would perform chest compressions (15.5% non-biological vs 19.1% biological first-year university students, P=0.16) and 65.2% would enroll in a first aid course (51.1% non-biological vs 74.7% biological, P<0.01), with an OR=2.61 (95%CI=1.98-3.44) adjusted for the same confounders. Even though a high percentage of the students recognized emergency situations, a significant proportion did not know the MEAS/SAMU number and only a minority had sufficient basic life support skills to help with cardiac arrest. A significant proportion would not enroll in a first aid course. Biological first-year university students were more prone to enroll in a basic life support course.