Port Harcourt Medical Journal

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Year
: 2016  |  Volume : 10  |  Issue : 2  |  Page : 60--65

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation skills in some Nigerian secondary school students


Adedamola Olutoyin Onyeaso1, Chukwudi Ochi Onyeaso2 
1 Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education, Faculty of Education, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
2 Department of Child Dental Health, Faculty of Dentistry, College of Health Sciences, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Correspondence Address:
Adedamola Olutoyin Onyeaso
Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education, Faculty of Education, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt
Nigeria

Background: While many countries of the world have incorporated the teaching of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) into their schools curricula, there has been little or no effort made towards this in Nigeria. The aim of this study was to find out whether exposure of some Nigerian secondary school children to the conventional CPR would result in significant change in their CPR skills immediately after the training. Methods: It was a quasi-experimental study design carried out in 2012 with participants drawn from both private and public secondary schools in Obio / Akpor Local Government Area in Port Harcourt City, Rivers State, Nigeria. The initial cohort (stage I) involved 400 participants from senior secondary school 1 and 2 (SS1) and SS2) when their baseline CPR skills were assessed and immediately after the CPR training (stage II) when the participants dropped to 347 [189 (54.5%) females; 158 (45.5%) males]. They were exposed to both class room teachings and the practical hands-on sessions using manikins in line with the American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines. The data was analyzed using ANOVA and t-test. Results: Although the participants had virtually no CPR skills at the beginning, they gained very substantially immediately after the training which was found statistically significant (P < 0.05). They showed much enthusiasm in the training with high percentage of them indicating willingness not only to provide bystander CPR to their relatives but to strangers and trauma victims. Over 98% of them wanted CPR to be formally taught in Nigerian secondary schools. Conclusions: The CPR skills of the Nigerian students improved statistically with many ready to offer bystander CPR. It was recommended that CPR training programme should be incorporated into the curriculum of secondary school education in Nigeria.


How to cite this article:
Onyeaso AO, Onyeaso CO. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation skills in some Nigerian secondary school students.Port Harcourt Med J 2016;10:60-65


How to cite this URL:
Onyeaso AO, Onyeaso CO. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation skills in some Nigerian secondary school students. Port Harcourt Med J [serial online] 2016 [cited 2024 Mar 28 ];10:60-65
Available from: https://www.phmj.org/article.asp?issn=0795-3038;year=2016;volume=10;issue=2;spage=60;epage=65;aulast=Onyeaso;type=0