Comparison of Effectiveness of Two Different Practical Approaches to Teaching Basic Life Support and Use of an Automated External Defibrillator in Primary School Children

<i>Background and Objectives</i>: As the first three links of the chain of survival of victims of cardiac arrest depend on prompt action by bystanders, it is important to educate as much of the population as possible about basic life support and use of an automatic external defibrillator (BLS and AED). Schoolchildren are an accessible population that can be easily taught and numerous BLS and AED courses are available. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of two different practical approaches to teaching BLS and AED. <i>Material and Methods</i>: We compared two different BLS and AED courses (course A and B) offered to 280 eighth- and ninth-grade students in primary schools. Knowledge about and the intention to perform BLS and AED were evaluated using validated questionnaires before and after the courses. Descriptive methods were used to describe the results. To compare courses, we used the Mann-Whitney U test. A <i>p</i> value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. <i>Results</i>: Differences in knowledge and intention to perform BLS and AED after the courses were significant between courses (<i>p</i> < 0.001 and <i>p</i> = 0.037, respectively). After course A, students demonstrated significantly better knowledge and numerically greater intention to perform BLS and AED (intention score 6.55 ± 0.61 out of 7). <i>Conclusions</i>: Courses in which students have the opportunity to individually practice BLS skills show a greater increase in knowledge and in intention to perform BLS and AED.