Comment on: “Basic Life Support: an accessible tool in layperson training”

We read with great interest the article by Bonizzio et al.¹ entitled “Basic Life Support: an accessible tool in layperson training”. Basic life support (BLS) is a very important concept, and people should be able to do it correctly if they are trained to do so. It is sad to know that the knowledge of BLS is poor in many countries, and both health professionals and laypeople must be trained regularly to save more lives¹ , ² .

Bonizzio et al.¹ stated that there was no significant difference in knowledge between health care professionals and laypeople. This finding is really important because we assume that health care professionals would be better at BLS. A study conducted on nurses showed that if the training for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is not repeated at 6 months intervals, the knowledge decreases³ . It is possible that the lower than expected knowledge of health care professionals is caused by insufficient CPR courses. If compulsory CPR training in hospitals and health institutions is repeated every 6 months, CPR knowledge in health care professionals will gradually increase. They will also learn the innovations in the guidelines through their instructors.

Layperson training is very important because not everyone is lucky to pass out in a health facility. In a study conducted by Pergola and Araujo⁴ , 31% of the participants did not know the telephone number of the emergency services. The public should be aware of the importance of CPR knowledge. Bonizzio et al.¹ show us an easy and applicable way of BLS training. Dummies made to train laypeople are cheap and easy to make with materials used daily. With this method, layperson training will be cheap with the help of volunteer health care professionals. If BLS training is added to the curriculum of senior medical students, a large number of educators will emerge. Since these students are trained at an instructor level, their knowledge will increase automatically.

REFERENCES

• ¹
  Bonizzio CR, Nagao CK, Polho GB, Paes VR. Basic Life Support: an accessible tool in layperson training. Rev Assoc Med Bras (1992). 2019;65(10):1300-7.
• ²
  Baldi E, Contri E, Bailoni A, Rendic K, Turcan V, Donchev N, et al. Final-year medical students’ knowledge of cardiac arrest and CPR: we must do more! Int J Cardiol. 2019;296:76-80.
• ³
  Türkmen E, Işık I, Balcı S, Topçu SA, Abalı S, Karaçay P. Success, expectations, and satisfaction levels of nursing/health school students attending to the basic life support course. Yoğun Bakım Hemşireliği Dergisi. 2009;13(2):55-62.
• ⁴
  Pergola AM, Araujo IE. The layperson in emergency situation. Rev Esc Enferm USP. 2008;42(4):769-76.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  15 June 2020
• Date of issue
  Apr 2020