Knowledge and attitudes toward basic life support among medical students in Oman

Background: This study aimed to assess the level of knowledge regarding the basic life support (BLS) and attitudes related to BLS training and to identify the factors affecting these among medical students in Oman. Materials and methods: This prospective cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was carried out during the period July 2017 to February 2018 at Medical College of Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman. Validated questionnaires in English were distributed among undergraduate medical students from 1st to 7th years. Results: A total of 304 medical students completed the questionnaire with a response rate of 82.7%. The mean knowledge score of the participants was slightly high (5.5 ± 2.1) and median score of 5. About 53.6% of the participants had insufficient knowledge level. The scores increased with increase in the year of training. More than half (64.5%) of the participants had no previous BLS training. Students who attended previous BLS training showed higher knowledge scores (p < 0.001). Majority of the participants (97.4%) supported including of BLS in the undergraduate medical curriculum. Majority of the students (74%) were not reluctant to perform BLS on a stranger, although there was some reluctance among the female students. Conclusion: Our findings show that medical students in Oman had insufficient knowledge about BLS. However, they showed positive attitudes toward BLS training and were not reluctant to provide BLS to a stranger if required. These highlights the importance to provide sufficient BLS training for medical students early in their course.