Knowledge of and attitudes towards resuscitation in New Zealand high-school students

Introducing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training in the high-school curriculum has been widely recommended as a long-term strategy to educate the wider community. Although CPR has been included in the New Zealand school curriculum, it is listed as an optional subject only.

To assess the attitude towards and knowledge of CPR in 16-17-year-old high-school students in New Zealand.

Questionnaires were administered to 494 students aged 16-17 years across six high schools in Wellington, New Zealand. Both knowledge and attitude were evaluated in the questionnaire.

Students showed poor theoretical knowledge, with a mean (SD) score of 5.61 (2.61) out of a maximum score of 18. Although there was no difference between male and female students, those who had received previous first-aid training (70%) showed greater knowledge (6.04 (2.56)) than their untrained counterparts (4.91 (2.24); p = 0.001). Those students with a positive attitude towards CPR and first-aid training (63%) acquired a higher knowledge score (6.12 (2.4)) than those with a negative attitude (17%; 4.65 (2.5); p = 0.001). Students with negative associations were also less likely to want to learn more about CPR and first aid (11%) when compared with those with positive associations (92%), and indicated less willingness to perform CPR on a stranger (negative v positive, 47% v 70%).

These findings suggest that although most high-school students are willing and motivated to learn CPR, a smaller percentage of students had a negative attitude towards CPR that would act as a barrier to future learning or performance of resuscitation. Introducing CPR training to high schools is still recommended; however, this study shows the need to associate this training with positive references in an attempt to assist those for whom negative attitude may present as a barrier to learning and retaining CPR knowledge.