Impact of Basic Life Support Training on Knowledge and Practical Skills Among High School Students: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Background: Cardiac arrest is a life-threatening emergency with high mortality rates in Indonesia, underscoring the urgent need to improve public capacity in Basic Life Support (BLS). Adolescents represent a strategic target population for BLS education, yet evidence on training effectiveness among high school students in Indonesia remains limited. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of BLS simulation training on the knowledge and practical skills of high school students in Jakarta. Methods: A quasi-experimental pre-post design was employed with 97 randomly selected high school students. BLS knowledge was assessed using a validated 10-item questionnaire, and practical skills were evaluated using an SOP-based checklist adapted from AHA (2015) guidelines. Data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test following normality testing with the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. Results: Data were collected in August 2025 from 97 students. Based on the Wilcoxon test, a significant relationship was found regarding skills between before and after basic life support training with p-value of 0.00 (p<0.05). Conclusion: BLS simulation training significantly improved high school students' knowledge and practical skills in responding to cardiac and respiratory arrest. These findings support the integration of regular BLS education into school curricula to strengthen community-level emergency preparedness.