The knowledge and practices of South African chiropractors in performing basic life support

Abstract

Background: Basic Life Support is a set of emergency procedures used to keep a patient alive until advanced medical care arrives. Chiropractors are allied healthcare professionals who may encounter life-threatening medical emergencies such as cardiac arrest within their private practice, thus needing to initiate basic life support in certain circumstances. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge and practices of South African chiropractors in performing Basic Life Support. Methodology: A QuestionPro® survey link was sent to Chiropractors practicing in South Africa who were registered with the Allied Health Professions Council of South Africa. A total of 160 participants completed the survey and data was captured for statistical analysis. Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) [IBM Corporation, Armonk NY] version 25. Results: The results revealed that the level of Basic Life Support knowledge amongst chiropractors was low. Factors associated with good knowledge were: being female and completing a course in the last year or attending a refresher course within the last two years. Conclusion: The majority of the data collected was in line with the literature on knowledge of Basic Life Support. However, those studies were conducted on other healthcare practitioners such as nurses, doctors, paramedics, physiotherapists and specialists. The findings of this study were unique to chiropractors in South Africa.