Eureka! Institutional Repository

Midwifery as a scientific field is focused on the women’s health care during the reproductive period and also of the newborns for the first days after birth. In emergency situations, it is obligatory for the midwives to know how to support the women and newborns’ lives. General part: As far as basic life support educational programmes is concerned, the up to date Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) guidelines have to be introduced and the knowledge of the algorithms, and demonstration of clinical competencies have to be facilitated as the main educational target. Delay and knowledge deficits in CPR skills can decrease the possibility of victim’s survival. CPR education is considered to be a basic educational field for all health professionals and assessment of the skills should be a priority of basic and livelong education. Research part: Purpose: The purpose of this research is to outline the theoretical knowledge of midwives about CPR skills in Greece. This knowledge might help raise awareness about the need of improving educational approaches. Material and Method: An electronic questionnaire was used to collect information about CPR knowledge. This questionnaire was disseminated to Midwifery graduates of Technological Educational Institutes of Greece. Seventy of them responded and their answers are analyzed below. Results: A high percentage of sample understood the meaning of CPR, but only half of them knew the precise indications of its application. ¾ of the participants knew the correct sequence of interventions while resuscitating an adult. The opposite is observed in the neonatal resuscitation. Almost half of the participants answered incorrectly when asked about the frequency of chest compression to adults and neonates. It is worth noting that 11 of them did not know the function and significance of use of the automatic external defibrillator. Regarding the midwives’ satisfaction about the CPR education that they received as undergraduate students, they seem to be dissatisfied and would like to gain further up to date training. Discussion results: Theoretical CPR knowledge level of midwifery graduates appears to be below the desired level. The results show that CPR education and skills training is inadequate. That low knowledge level is attributed to the unsatisfactory information that midwifery undergraduates receive while studying and to the lack of continuous skill training and knowledge assessment.6 Conclusion: Lifelong CPR education is of the utmost importance and should be mandatory to all health professionals, including midwives. In order to achieve this, a sustained effort at personal or institutional level is essential, in conjunction with institutions and organizations that are able to upgrade health care level significantly