Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Knowledge Among Nurses in Herat Afghanistan: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: This study assessed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) knowledge among nurses in Herat, Afghanistan, and examined demographic and workplace factors associated with differences in knowledge. By providing local evidence from a setting where standardized emergency-care training is limited, the study helps address an important national evidence gap. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2024 among 321 registered nurses from public and private hospitals in Herat Province. Participants were recruited using convenience sampling. Data were collected using a structured, self-administered questionnaire adapted from validated instruments and analyzed in SPSS v27. Descriptive statistics summarized responses, and chi-square tests assessed associations between knowledge level and participant characteristics. Results: Most participants recognized CPR as important (95.6%) and lifesaving in cardiac arrest (98.4%). Support for compulsory CPR training was high for healthcare professionals (90.7%) and medical students (86.3%). Knowledge was also strong regarding defibrillation (87.9%), maintaining calm during CPR (88.8%), and the risk of irreversible brain injury after 7 minutes (77.6%). However, important gaps remained in specific domains—particularly pediatric considerations and public misconceptions: only 60.4% knew that compression-only CPR is less effective in children, and 42.1% recognized that media portrayals often misrepresent CPR outcomes. The proportion with higher knowledge was greater among nurses working in private hospitals (66.7% compared to 52.4%) (p = 0.009), those with 2– 4 years of experience (69.3%) (p = 0.012)—notably higher than groups with longer experience—night-shift nurses (81.1%) (p = 0.009), nurses aged 23– 28 (58.0%) (p = 0.041), and those working standard shifts of 8– 12 hours/day (59.9%) (p = 0.005). Conclusion: CPR knowledge among nurses in Herat was generally high, but consistent deficits were observed in pediatric CPR-related concepts and misconceptions about CPR outcomes. These findings provide baseline evidence to guide targeted refresher training, simulation-based education, and institutional standardization to strengthen emergency response capacity in Afghanistan. Keywords: cardiopulmonary resuscitation, nurses, knowledge, cross-sectional studies, Afghanistan