Abstract
PURPOSE: Cardiopulmonary arrest is a life-threatening condition where initiating and performing effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is extremely connected to patient outcome. Therefore, acquisition of knowledge and skills related to basic life support is very important for nursing students as future workers. In this study, we aimed to assess the effect of a simulation-based education of adult basic life support cardiopulmonary resuscitation (BLS-CPR) on the acquisition of knowledge and skills among nursing students. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This study used a post-test nonequivalent control group quasi-experimental design. It was conducted in the medicine faculty's clinical simulation center among second-year nursing students, enrolled in public and private institutes of nursing education in Sousse, Tunisia, during the 2022/2023 academic year. In this study, convenience sampling was used to recruit 240 nursing students who were assigned using the simple random allocation into two groups. The students designated as the control group (n = 130) received two hours of the conventional BLS education lecture. And the intervention group (n = 110) received the same lecture with added structured simulation-based education of adult BLS-CPR. Adult Basic Life Support Knowledge Questionnaire and Adult Basic Life Support Observation Checklist were used to assess Students' knowledge and practices acquisition in both groups. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical techniques in SPSS 26. RESULTS: The mean post-test BLS-CPR's knowledge and skills scores were higher in the intervention group compared to the control group. In addition, students from the public institute showed a higher score in both control and intervention groups with significant p values, respectively, for the BLS-CPR Knowledge score (<0.001; 0.039) and the BLS-CPR Skills score (<0.001; <0.0001). CONCLUSION: Simulation-based adult BLS-CPR education is an effective method that improves nursing students' skills and knowledge acquisition.