Age, Gender and School Class and Retention of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Knowledge among Secondary School Students in Nigeria

Background/Aim of Study: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an important element in the “chain of survival” for the treatment of victims of cardiac arrest. Bystander CPR is a strong predictor of long term survival and bystanders with previous CPR training are more likely to perform CPR. This study aimed at assessing the CPR knowledge retention six weeks after the initial training, as well as the influence of age, gender and school class on CPR knowledge.

Study Design: Quasi-experimental study design was used.

Place and Duration of the Study: Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education, Faculty of Education, University of Port Harcourt between October and December, 2012.

Methodology: A group of students selected from different schools had pre-training, training programme, post-training and retest assessments of their CPR knowledge. Modified AHA form was used in data collation. Video-tapes, songs, power points lectures and hands-on using manikin were employed during the teaching.

Results: The students significantly retained CPR knowledge six weeks after training (P < 0.05), while age, gender and school class did not have any significant influence on CPR knowledge (P > 0.05).

Conclusion: The Nigerian students can serve as a reliable target in increasing the number of bystanders for positive public health impact, and their age, gender and school class might not matter in their CPR knowledge acquisition and retention.