Retention of Knowledge and Skills After a Basic Life Support Course for Schoolchildren: A Prospective Study

Courses on basic life support (BLS) and automated external defibrillator (AED) in schools lead to increase in knowledge but its retention is less well explored. We aimed to explore the long-term retention of knowledge and practical skills among schoolchildren after a BLS and AED course to be able to tailor future courses accordingly. Study was conducted in 3 parts and included 823 seventh and ninth graders from different elementary schools in Maribor, Slovenia. In Study 1 (n=611) we assessed students' baseline knowledge and immediate knowledge gain after our BLS and AED course with a validated questionnaire; in Study 2 (n=116) we assessed retention of gained knowledge and skills after 5 months with a modified Cardiff test and Little Anne QCPR manikin; in Study 3 (n=96) we assessed retention of knowledge 2 years after the course. Mean differences in knowledge before and after the course in Study 1 and between studies were analyzed using paired t-tests and independent t-tests. Differences between individual question scores at different time points were compared using Mann – Whitney U test. A two-sided P