Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice of basic life support among physical therapy practitioners in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

Objective: To assess the level of knowledge, attitude and practice of basic life support among physical therapy practitioners.

Methods: The descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Riphah International University, Islamabad, Pakistan, from February to July 2018, and comprised data collected from physical therapy practitioners working at four public-sector hospitals in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. A 30-item structured questionnaire adapted from the American Heart Association was used. Data was analysed using SPSS 21.

Results: Of the 100 subjects, 65(65%) were females and 35(35%) were males. The overall mean age was 25.54±3.76 years. The mean score of BLS knowledge and practice was 7.27±1.79 and 3.77±1.65 respectively. of the total, 61(61%) had received prior basic life support training, and the difference in knowledge and practice scores between trained and untrained professionals was significant (p<0.05). Gender-based difference was significant (p=0.02). All (100%) participants showed positive attitude towards basic life support training.

Conclusions: Physical therapy practitioners possessed average basic life support knowledge, but practising skills were lacking.