Effectiveness of basic life support training course intervention among dental practitioners and students - An experimental study

Shivananda Shivakumar; Vidya Gowdappa Doddawad; Sahith Kumar Shetty; Manjula Shivanagappa; Chandan Sriraghuramapura Narayanaswamy; Akhil Shetty; Hari Kishore Bhat

doi:10.4103/njms.njms_59_22

Effectiveness of basic life support training course intervention among dental practitioners and students - An experimental study

Natl J Maxillofac Surg. 2024 Jan-Apr;15(1):87-92. doi: 10.4103/njms.njms_59_22. Epub 2024 Mar 19.

Authors

Shivananda Shivakumar¹, Vidya Gowdappa Doddawad², Sahith Kumar Shetty¹, Manjula Shivanagappa¹, Chandan Sriraghuramapura Narayanaswamy¹, Akhil Shetty³, Hari Kishore Bhat⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, JSS Dental College and Hospital A Constituent College of JSSAHER Mysore, Karnataka, India.
² Oral Pathology and Microbiology, JSS Dental College and Hospital A Constituent College of JSSAHER Mysore, Karnataka, India.
³ Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, Nitte (Deemed to be University), AB Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences (ABSMIDS), Mangalore, Karnataka, India.
⁴ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Yenepoya Dental College, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University) Mangalore, Karnataka, India.

Abstract

Aim: To determine the level of knowledge and skill of basic life support (BLS) among undergraduate, postgraduate students, and general practitioners with and without regular attendance of the BLS Healthcare Provider course.

Methodology: The study was carried out at two intervals with two groups. A random sample involving undergraduate students, postgraduate students, and dental professionals was selected for both study groups. Group 1 with 440 participants had not attended BLS for Healthcare Providers Course in the last two years. Group 2 with 410 participants had attended the BLS for Healthcare Providers course regularly once a year. First, participants in Group 1 were evaluated using an MCQ test with 30 questions about their knowledge and skills in BLS. Then, a well-trained BLS instructor team from Dental College & Hospital offered BLS healthcare provider courses to students and dentists. Subsequently, Group 2 participants who had completed a BLS course for healthcare providers last year were also assessed for their knowledge and skills in BLS using another MCQ test.

Results: The marks obtained in the tests were tabulated and analyzed. To determine the association between variables with respect to mean knowledge score, t-test was employed. Multiple group comparison was made using analysis of variance and P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The group 1 participants score a mean of 5.7 marks against the Group 2 with a mean score of 27.4 marks out of 30 marks. Knowledge and skill in BLS skills among those in Group 1 without prior BLS training was mainly low. Dental practitioners performed marginally better than students in both groups.

Conclusions: Based on the results, we make the following observations. With the introduction of BLS training into the academic curriculum and routine BLS hands-on workshops, all healthcare providers will be familiar with the BLS skills to effectively manage the life-threatening emergencies.

Keywords: Basic cardiac life support; cardiopulmonary resuscitation; dentist; knowledge; skill.