Knowledge of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Before and After an Educational Intervention among Comprehensive Community Medicine Students

Abstract

Introduction: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training is an essential competency for medical students because cardiac arrest requires prompt recognition and response. Objective: To compare CPR knowledge levels before and after an educational intervention among Comprehensive Community Medicine students at the Manuel Atanasio Girardot Comprehensive Diagnostic Center, Aragua State, Venezuela. Materials and methods: A pre-experimental, longitudinal, one-group pretest-posttest study was conducted from January to July 2025. From a population of 38 students, 25 were selected by non-probability convenience sampling. A structured questionnaire validated by three experts was administered. The intervention comprised four theoretical-practical sessions totaling 36 hours, supported by demonstrations, supervised practice, and simulation. Data were analyzed descriptively using frequencies and percentages. Results: Before the intervention, 21 students (84%) had a medium knowledge level and 4 (16%) had a high level. After training, 19 (76%) reached a high level and 6 (24%) remained at a medium level; no participant was classified as low at either assessment. Discussion: The descriptive shift toward higher knowledge levels is consistent with studies reporting benefits of structured training and simulation for basic life support learning. Conclusions: The intervention was associated with a descriptive improvement in CPR knowledge. Because the study lacked a control group and used descriptive analysis only, the findings should be interpreted cautiously and do not establish causality.