Knowledge and Competency of Healthcare Professionals and Medical Students in Cardiac Arrest and CPR in Pakistan: A Nationwide Cross‐Sectional Study

ABSTRACT Background and Aims Out‐of‐hospital cardiac arrest stands as the primary cause of worldwide mortality. Therefore, all healthcare workers must comprehensively understand and practically apply cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). To address the paucity of literature on this subject, we conduc...

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Main Authors: Usha Kumari, Zair Hassan, Maria Waseem, Moiz Sahito, Shanzay Zahid, Kevin Patel, Muneeb Jan, Salim Surani, Javed Iqbal
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-06-01
Series:Health Science Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.70419
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author Usha Kumari
Zair Hassan
Maria Waseem
Moiz Sahito
Shanzay Zahid
Kevin Patel
Muneeb Jan
Salim Surani
Javed Iqbal
author_facet Usha Kumari
Zair Hassan
Maria Waseem
Moiz Sahito
Shanzay Zahid
Kevin Patel
Muneeb Jan
Salim Surani
Javed Iqbal
author_sort Usha Kumari
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT Background and Aims Out‐of‐hospital cardiac arrest stands as the primary cause of worldwide mortality. Therefore, all healthcare workers must comprehensively understand and practically apply cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). To address the paucity of literature on this subject, we conducted a nationwide survey among healthcare professionals in Pakistan. Methods This nationwide cross‐sectional study was based on an online questionnaire. The sample pool comprised healthcare professionals and medical students from all over Pakistan. The survey comprised 18 questions aimed to assess the comprehension of CPR, determine the source of their basic life support (BLS) training, and evaluate their competence in performing CPR in real‐life situations. Results The sample size consisted of 951 participants from Pakistan. A total of 712 responders (75%) reported having received CPR or CPR with an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) course, and the same percentage reported that their respective universities had organized the course. The responders reported that the BLS course was made mandatory in only 60% of cases. Most of the respondents were first‐year medical students (21%) and postgraduates (21%). Most of the respondents (78%) professed that the courses had been theoretical as well as practical, and 66% felt confident enacting CPR in out‐of‐hospital settings. Overall, no province was able to achieve a score of greater than 50% when assessed about their knowledge regarding cardiac arrest and CPR. Conclusion This study provides a detailed insight into Pakistan healthcare workers' CPR knowledge and perceptions belonging to different provinces, institutes, designations, and specialties. The participants reported being confident in performing CPR but demonstrated gaps when assessed regarding the revised guidelines and their performance in different scenarios. There is room for further research in overcoming the language barriers and other discrepancies faced by this study.
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spelling doaj-art-3091dcbd876940c9bbe435dbc0579d332025-08-20T03:32:42ZengWileyHealth Science Reports2398-88352025-06-0186n/an/a10.1002/hsr2.70419Knowledge and Competency of Healthcare Professionals and Medical Students in Cardiac Arrest and CPR in Pakistan: A Nationwide Cross‐Sectional StudyUsha Kumari0Zair Hassan1Maria Waseem2Moiz Sahito3Shanzay Zahid4Kevin Patel5Muneeb Jan6Salim Surani7Javed Iqbal8University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center Memphis Tennessee USAAfridi Medical Complex and Teaching Hospital PakistanDow University of Health Sciences Karachi PakistanDow University of Health Sciences Karachi PakistanDow University of Health Sciences Karachi PakistanUniversity of Tennessee Health Sciences Center Memphis Tennessee USALady Reading Hospital Peshawar PakistanTexas A&M University College Station Texas USAHamad Medical Corporation Doha Doha QatarABSTRACT Background and Aims Out‐of‐hospital cardiac arrest stands as the primary cause of worldwide mortality. Therefore, all healthcare workers must comprehensively understand and practically apply cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). To address the paucity of literature on this subject, we conducted a nationwide survey among healthcare professionals in Pakistan. Methods This nationwide cross‐sectional study was based on an online questionnaire. The sample pool comprised healthcare professionals and medical students from all over Pakistan. The survey comprised 18 questions aimed to assess the comprehension of CPR, determine the source of their basic life support (BLS) training, and evaluate their competence in performing CPR in real‐life situations. Results The sample size consisted of 951 participants from Pakistan. A total of 712 responders (75%) reported having received CPR or CPR with an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) course, and the same percentage reported that their respective universities had organized the course. The responders reported that the BLS course was made mandatory in only 60% of cases. Most of the respondents were first‐year medical students (21%) and postgraduates (21%). Most of the respondents (78%) professed that the courses had been theoretical as well as practical, and 66% felt confident enacting CPR in out‐of‐hospital settings. Overall, no province was able to achieve a score of greater than 50% when assessed about their knowledge regarding cardiac arrest and CPR. Conclusion This study provides a detailed insight into Pakistan healthcare workers' CPR knowledge and perceptions belonging to different provinces, institutes, designations, and specialties. The participants reported being confident in performing CPR but demonstrated gaps when assessed regarding the revised guidelines and their performance in different scenarios. There is room for further research in overcoming the language barriers and other discrepancies faced by this study.https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.70419asystolecardiac arrestcardiopulmonary arrestreturn of spontaneous circulationsudden cardiac death
spellingShingle Usha Kumari
Zair Hassan
Maria Waseem
Moiz Sahito
Shanzay Zahid
Kevin Patel
Muneeb Jan
Salim Surani
Javed Iqbal
Knowledge and Competency of Healthcare Professionals and Medical Students in Cardiac Arrest and CPR in Pakistan: A Nationwide Cross‐Sectional Study
Health Science Reports
asystole
cardiac arrest
cardiopulmonary arrest
return of spontaneous circulation
sudden cardiac death
title Knowledge and Competency of Healthcare Professionals and Medical Students in Cardiac Arrest and CPR in Pakistan: A Nationwide Cross‐Sectional Study
title_full Knowledge and Competency of Healthcare Professionals and Medical Students in Cardiac Arrest and CPR in Pakistan: A Nationwide Cross‐Sectional Study
title_fullStr Knowledge and Competency of Healthcare Professionals and Medical Students in Cardiac Arrest and CPR in Pakistan: A Nationwide Cross‐Sectional Study
title_full_unstemmed Knowledge and Competency of Healthcare Professionals and Medical Students in Cardiac Arrest and CPR in Pakistan: A Nationwide Cross‐Sectional Study
title_short Knowledge and Competency of Healthcare Professionals and Medical Students in Cardiac Arrest and CPR in Pakistan: A Nationwide Cross‐Sectional Study
title_sort knowledge and competency of healthcare professionals and medical students in cardiac arrest and cpr in pakistan a nationwide cross sectional study
topic asystole
cardiac arrest
cardiopulmonary arrest
return of spontaneous circulation
sudden cardiac death
url https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.70419
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