Abstract:
Background: Basic Life Support (BLS) encompasses crucial techniques for aiding
individuals in cardiac arrest, chocking, Traumatic Injurie, or respiratory distress situations.
Factors influencing BLS effectiveness include nurses' knowledge, attitudes, training,
experience, and exposure to relevant cases. Additionally, equipment availability, adequate
resources, policies, protocols, response time, and sufficient staffing play vital roles.
Aim: To identify the factors influencing the practice of basic life support among nurses in
three selected hospitals.
Methods: A quantitative descriptive approach, A cross-sectional design was employed to
meet the study's objectives. The sample size reached was 175 (95.62%) out of 183 and the
total population sampling strategy was used. The data was gathered through the use of a
questionnaire. adapted and modified from questionnaires used to evaluate factors affecting
the knowledge and attitude of healthcare workers towards basic life support in Khyber
Teaching Hospital in Peshawar province of Pakistan and permission was guaranteed. The
tables were used to present the data after analysed SPSS software version 22 and presented in
tables where applicable, the relationship between demographic data, level of study and
knowledge scores was reported. Results: The study found that nurses 133 (76%) had poor knowledge of basic life support
(BLS), 16(9.14%) had moderate knowledge, and 14.86% had good knowledge. Only 48(27.4
3%) had positive attitude, 59 (33.71%) had neutral attitude 68(38.86%) had negative attitude
about basic life support. The chi-square test showed a significant relationship between
demographic data and BLS knowledge level, CI = 26 and p = 0.000089. About 80.6% and
81.7% of the respondents reported the availability of updated BLS protocols and BLS
equipment respectively. About 42% of participants attended BLS training at least twice, with
42.3% within the last 1-2 years. In-service training significantly impacted BLS knowledge (pvalue < 0.05), especially for those with 1-4 years of experience.
Conclusion: Demographic factors, training frequency, certification, and hospital resources
significantly influence nurses' practice of BLS. Implementing continuous training programs,
ensuring the availability of necessary equipment, and addressing staffing challenges are
essential steps towards improving BLS practices and patient outcomes in Rwandan district
hospitals.
