Basic Life Support awareness among resident doctors, medical students, nursing experts, health care providers, and their assistants in Southwest Iran

Introduction
Knowing the basic life support (BLS) technique is an essential requirement for all individuals of a community in order to save lives in an emergency. The awareness level about the proper techniques of BLS is questionable among medical personnel.

Aim of the research
This prospective observational study was conducted to assess the awareness level of the basic resuscitation principles in Southwest Iran.

Material and methods
The aspects that were asked in this questionnaire include the following items: the basic resuscitation stages, and methods of assessment and resuscitation with regard to airway, respiration, and blood circulation in the victims according to age group.

Results
In total, 202 people employed in the hospital participated in this study. The mean scores of those who had already completed BLS education was 8.45 ±2.42 and in the individuals who had heard about these technique it was 7.31 ±2.71 (p = 0.002). This relation was statistically significant. The knowledge of specialised assistants was significantly higher than health care providers and their assistants as well as medical intern groups (p < 0.001). In addition, the knowledge of nursing experts was significantly higher than the health care providers and their assistants (p = 0.004) and medical interns (p = 0.002).

Conclusions
This study showed that the awareness level of the cardiopulmonary resuscitation principles among different health care departments (health care providers, nurses, and physicians) is low, and holding education courses with a minimum of 6-month intervals is necessary. In addition, for medical interns, basic medical education should start from basic medical sciences.