Level and determinants of advanced life support knowledge among nurses in Spain: A national cross-sectional study

The objectives of the study are to assess the knowledge of advanced life support among general nurses in Spain, identify knowledge gaps and analyze the demographic, educational, and occupational determinants of their level of knowledge.

A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2020 to February 2021 among general nurses in Spain. A structured self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data on demographics, educational, and professional background, as well as theoretical knowledge questions. A binary logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the influencing factors associated with the outcome of the educational measure.

A total of 888 general nurses participated in the study, with representation from all 52 Spanish provinces; 80% of whom were female nurses. The 72.3% of the nurses did not attain the 70% correct score on the theoretical questionnaire, a prerequisite for achieving an adequate pass rating. The study revealed inadequate knowledge among the participating nurses with regard to the characteristics of fluid therapy, the conditions for defibrillation and the action algorithm in the event of a defibrillate rhythm, and the recommendations for use of the LUCAS RCP^® device. Nurse gender, possession of at least a Master's degree, practising in high-risk areas for cardiac arrest and having received recent advanced life support training were positively associated with better knowledge of advanced life support among nurses.

The study shows that Spanish general nurses have insufficient knowledge of advanced life support and that there are evident knowledge gaps in key subject areas relating to best practices for cardiorespiratory arrests. This indicates that they require knowledge building to promote evidence-based patient care. Furthermore, the findings emphasize the significance of ongoing education needed to respond to high-risk events such as a cardiac arrest. The positive and negative factors identified in this study, which influence the attainment of a good level of advanced life support knowledge, should be taken into account.