Abstract
In Botswana nurses provide most health care in the primary, secondary and tertiary level clinics and hospitals. Trauma and medical emergencies are on the increase, and nurses should have cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) knowledge and skills in order to be able to implement effective interventions in cardiac arrest situations. The objective of this descriptive study was to assess registered nurses’ CPR knowledge and skills. A pre-test, intervention and re-test time-series research design was adopted, and data were collected from 102 nurses from the 2 referral hospitals in Botswana. A multiple-choice questionnaire and checklist were used to collect data. All nurses failed the pre-test. Their knowledge and skills improved after training, but deteriorated over the three months until the post-test was conducted. The significantly low levels of registered nurses’ CPR skills in Botswana should be addressed by instituting country-wide CPR training and regular refresher courses
Highlights
Problem statementCardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a critical component of basic life support (BLS) as the first-line response to cardiac arrest before defibrillation and advanced life support become available
Many studies on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) conducted in developed countries such as the United States of America (USA) (Dane et al 2000:83), the United Kingdom (UK) (Broomfield 1996:1016), Finland (Hopstock 2008:16) and Ireland (Madden 2006:218) revealed inadequate levels of CPR knowledge and skills amongst registered nurses
As many as 40.2% (n = 41) of the respondents said that patients had died during or after CPR interventions
Summary
Problem statementCardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a critical component of basic life support (BLS) as the first-line response to cardiac arrest before defibrillation and advanced life support become available. Many studies on CPR conducted in developed countries such as the United States of America (USA) (Dane et al 2000:83), the United Kingdom (UK) (Broomfield 1996:1016), Finland (Hopstock 2008:16) and Ireland (Madden 2006:218) revealed inadequate levels of CPR knowledge and skills amongst registered nurses. Trauma and medical emergencies are on the increase, and nurses should have cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) knowledge and skills in order to be able to implement effective interventions in cardiac arrest situations
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