To Assess Knowledge, Attitude and Practice on the Use of Automated External Defibrillation (AED) by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Providers in Pune, India

Abstract

Introduction: An Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) is defined as the loss of cardiac mechanicalfunction that occurs outside of the hospital setting and confirmed by the absence of signs of systemiccirculation. OHCA has a very low survival rate. Timely provision CPR and Rapid Defibrillation duringCardiac Arrest requires adequately trained and qualified personnel. It is therefore important to understandthe current level of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) with regards to AED amongst EMS responders.Objective: To assess Knowledge, Attitude and Practice on the Use of Automated External Defibrillation(AED) by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Providers.Methodology: The Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) study was conducted amongst 120 EmergencyMedical Services Providers at SCHS, Pune, India. A previously tested and validated KAP questionnaire byMarcus EH Ong et.al9 was utilized for the study. The final questionnaire consisted of 15 items spanning 3parameters -5 items testing Knowledge, 8 items measuring Attitude and 2 items measuring Practice relatedto use of AED.Discussion: The study was aimed at assessing the current knowledge, attitude and practices with regards toAED amongst EMS respondents. Most respondents reflected positive attitude towards utilizing AED in outof Hospital Cardiac Arrest patients.Conclusion: The study reemphasizes the need for formal training on AED usage. Although the study islimited by its sample size, it provides broad perspective on the subject