Knowledge, Attitude and Performance Ability of Automated External Defibrillator and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation among Korean University Students

This study examined the level of knowledge, attitude, and performance ability of automated external defibrillator (AED) and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) among university students who were not in health-related majors and to explore the relationships among these variables. In this study, 291 students were recruited from 3 universities in D city. Among them, 77.0% had ever seen or heard of AED and 61.9% did not know how to use it. The levels of knowledge, attitudes and performance ability differed significantly according to the CPR training experience and AED awareness (p<.002∼.001). The performance ability showed significant correlations with knowledge (r=. 42, p<.001) and attitude (r=. 55, p<.001) of AED and CPR. These findings suggest that future AED and CPR training programs should be developed to promote a positive attitude towards the willingness to perform AED and CPR as well as to increase the participants' confidence by repeated training.