THE DENTISTRY STUDENTS’ LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE AND THEIR ATTITUDE ABOUT PRINCIPLES OF CARDIOPULMONARY RESUSCITATION (CPR)

Incidence of medical emergencies in the dental office is not uncommon and is
challenging for the dentist and the patient. Cardiopulmonary arrest is one of the most important medical
emergencies and CPR is a vital component and the first step in responding to it, Therefore, having
knowledge in this field is essential for dental students. This study aimed to determine the Level of
Knowledge and Attitude in Dentistry students about Principles of CPR.
Materials & Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted on 60 dentistry clinic students in Urmia
University of Medical Sciences. Data collecting instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire with 56 items in 4
parts: Demographic, knowledge of basic CPR, knowledge of advanced CPR, and attitudes about CPR. After entering
the collected data to the SPSS (19) program, data analysis was performed by using descriptive-analytical statistics.
Results: The results indicated that from 60 participants in the study, 38/3% were male and 94/2% were
single, and the mean age was 23/84. Level of knowledge about principles of basic and advanced CPR was
very poor. 95% of the participants did not have any theoretical and practical training during their
education in this regard. Also, none of the samples had the background of observation or participation of
CPR.
Conclusion: The findings confirm that level of knowledge of clinic students of dentistry in the field of
CPR is not appropriate. Therefore, effective steps must be taken to enhance the level of knowledge and
attitude of dentistry students. It is suggested to organize workshops or to submit protocols about CPR and
especially to corporate specific theoretical and practical CPR courses in the pre-clinic or clinic curriculum
in the dentistry schools