Knowledge and attitude toward “basic life support” in dental college

Abstract

Aims: The aim of the study was to assess and compare the level of knowledge and attitude toward “basic life support (BLS)” among BDS students (3rd prof., final prof., and interns). Materials and Methods: The questionnaire was distributed among 190 students of the dental college. It had three sections that included demographic data and qualification, knowledge of participants regarding BLS, and attitude toward BLS. Statistical Analysis Used: ANOVA test (to compare knowledge score of students at various academic levels) and Student's t-test (to compare knowledge score of males and females) were used for statistical analysis. Results: One hundred and ninety students completed the survey with a response rate of 77.9%. We found that the mean knowledge score of males (7.09) was significantly higher than the mean knowledge score of females (6.07) (P = 0.02). We also deduced that the knowledge score was relatively higher among interns than the final and third prof. students. Nearly 96.8% volunteers were of the view that all dental students and clinicians must know about BLS and the training for the same must be given to them. Conclusions: We concluded that dental students had a positive attitude toward BLS while they were severely lacking in the knowledge of it.

Keywords

• Attitude
• basic life support
• cardiopulmonary resuscitation
• dental students
• knowledge