Basic life support competency among healthcare professionals in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis, 2025

Sudden cardiac arrest is a major global health problem, accounting for nearly half of all cardiovascular deaths. Its burden is particularly high in low-income regions, partly due to limited healthcare facilities. Early Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can increase survival rates to 50-70%. However, only a small proportion of cardiac arrest victims receive timely, adequate life-saving cardiopulmonary resuscitation, highlighting an urgent need for improvement.

To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of knowledge, attitude, and associated factors on basic life support among healthcare professionals in Ethiopia.

A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted by searching several databases, including PubMed, Medline, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, UpToDate, EMBASE, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Data on knowledge, attitudes, and associated factors related to basic life support among healthcare professionals were extracted. The pooled estimate of knowledge and attitude levels was calculated using a random-effects model. The Joanna Briggs Institute's (JBI) critical appraisal checklist was used to assess the quality of the included studies.

The final analysis included 12 studies with a total of 3045 participants. The pooled prevalence of good knowledge of basic life support among healthcare professionals in Ethiopia was 42.87 % (95 % CI: 29.15-56.59 %; I² = 98.86 %; p < 0.001). The pooled prevalence of favorable attitudes towards basic life support was 71.46 % (95 % CI: 69.89-73.04 %; I² = 98.80 %; p < 0.0001). Gender (being male; AOR = 0.31; 95 % CI: 0.07-0.56) was negativity associated with knowledge, while previous exposure to basic life support (AOR = 1.74; 95 % CI: 1.38-2.11) was positively associated. Assessment of publication bias revealed no evidences bias.

The overall prevalence good knowledge among healthcare professionals in Ethiopia remains below the Minimum standards, while their attitude towards basic life support was suboptimal. Male healthcare professionals less likely to have adequate knowledge on basic life support, where as those with pervious exposure to basic life support demonstrate good knowledge.