Knowledge and Practice Regarding Basic Life Support Among Nurses at Selected Private Hospitals, Kathmandu, Nepal

Basic life support (BLS) is a life-saving method for the patient with the use of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), use of automated external defibrillator (AED) and airway management. The nurses need to have knowledge and proper skills regarding BLS to save the lives of patients at the hospital as well as in the community setup. Hence, the study aimed to assess the knowledge and practice regarding BLS among nurses at selected private hospitals in Kathmandu, Nepal. A descriptive, cross-sectional study design was carried out to collect data among the nurses working in Green City Hospital, Chirayu National Hospital and Medical Institute Pvt. Ltd and B.P Smriti Hospital using a self-administered semi-structured questionnaire. A sample of 136 nurses was taken using probability stratified random sampling technique. The study found that only 7.4% nurses had adequate level of knowledge, 51.5% had moderate level of knowledge and 41.1% had inadequate level of knowledge regarding BLS. The study also revealed that 65.4% nurses had good practice and 34.6% had poor practice regarding BLS. There was a statistically significant association between the level of knowledge and working ward (p=0.002), working experience (p=0.011) and training related to CPR (p=0.000). There was no significant association between level of practice regarding BLS and other sociodemographic and professional related variables. It is concluded that although the knowledge level regarding BLS is adequate among few nurses whereas there is good practice regarding BLS among more nurses.