ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Healthcare Professions Education
This article is part of the Research TopicEducation Across the Cardiovascular Continuum: Multidisciplinary and Compassionate Approaches for Patients, Families, Caregivers, and ProfessionalsView all 7 articles
Comparative Evaluation of a Basic Life Support Educational Model in Non-Health University Students: the "Lives to Give Life" Project and its Social and Health Impact
Provisionally accepted
Pedro Fernández Florido1*
Francisco Manuel Parrilla Ruiz2,3,4
Gerardo Gómez Moreno5,6Antonio Cárdenas Cruz3,4,7- 1Intensive Care Service, Hospital Universitario Virgen Macarena, Seville, Spain
- 2Emergency Service, Hospital Universitario Clínico San Cecilio, Granada, Spain
- 3TEC-23 Research Group, IBS Granada, Granada, Spain
- 4Department of Medicine. University of Granada, Granada, Spain
- 5Faculty of Dentistry. University of Granada., Granada, Spain
- 6CTS-654 Research Group, Granada, Spain
- 7Intensive Care Service, Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves, Granada, Spain
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
-Introduction: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is a global public health problem with high rates of preventable mortality. Teaching basic life support to the general population is a key strategy for improving survival, although its implementation is often restricted to the healthcare setting. This study evaluates the potential benefits and social impact of an innovative model of basic life support teaching and learning applied to university professors in non-health-related degrees, within the Lives to Give Life project, developed at the University of Granada (Spain). -Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed between two groups of students: one consisting of healthcare professionals and the other of non-health-related university professors previously trained in basic life support. Theoretical knowledge and practical skills were analysed using structured objective tests, assessing the correct execution of essential manoeuvres, such as recognition of cardiac arrest, activation of the emergency system, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and use of the automated external defibrillator. Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed, considering p < 0.05 as the level of significance. -Results: Both groups showed a high level of acquisition of practical basic life support skills, with consistent results in most basic manoeuvres. The only significant differences were observed in automated external defibrillator management (OR=3,19; p=0,06), with better performance among students trained by healthcare professionals. The model based on nonhealthcare teachers was associated with improved outcomes, was replicable, and has great potential for expanding basic life support learning in nonclinical university settings. The results are limited by the cross-sectional design and the immediate post-training assessment. -Discussion: Basic life support training for non-healthcare university teachers appears to be a valid and useful approach for disseminating resuscitation knowledge and enhancing society’s capacity to respond to life-threatening emergencies. This model can be integrated into cross-disciplinary university training programmemes, strengthening the culture of resuscitation and contributing to a sustainable health and social impact.
Keywords: Basic life support, Cardiac arrest, Health Promotion, nonhealth degrees, Public health impact, Resuscitation, teacher training, universityeducation
Received: 10 Dec 2025; Accepted: 16 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Fernández Florido, Parrilla Ruiz, Gómez Moreno and Cárdenas Cruz. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Pedro Fernández Florido
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.