KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE OF CARDIOPULMONARY RESUSCITATION (CPR) AMONG NURSES AT GREATER ACCRA REGIONAL HOSPITAL AND LEGON HOSPITAL

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Cardiac arrest is a significant public health problem projected to account for 15–20% of all deaths. It is also recorded by WHO to be an important cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in both developed and developing countries. Cardiac arrest if not treated immediately, can cause sudden cardiac death. With fast and appropriate medical care, survival is possible. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is a lifesaving medical procedure for victims of sudden cardiac arrest. It is also done in an effort to manually preserve complete brain function until further actions are taken to restore normal unprompted blood circulation and breathing in cardiac arrest

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study is to assess the knowledge and practice of cardiopulmonary resuscitation among nurses in the Greater Accra Regional Hospital and Legon hospital in line with the 2015 guidelines of the America Heart Association.

METHOD: A cross-sectional descriptive survey method was employed. A convenience sampling method was used to select the study areas as well as all the 248 nurses for the study, who work in the Greater Accra Regional Hospital and Legon hospital. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain data. Data obtained were summarized as frequencies and percentages. Associations were then tested using Pearson’s chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression at 5% Significance.

RESULTS: 248 nurses participated in the study. The result of the study indicated that nurses in both hospitals had low knowledge (44.76%) and had fair practice on CPR (52.8%).

CONCLUSION: The study result shows that the nurses in these facilities need further training and periodic workshop on cardiopulmonary resuscitation to help them improve upon their quality of care they give to cardiac arrest patients.