LAUSR

Type of funding sources: None. Sudden cardiac death is one of the main issues worldwide, with more than 700.000 deaths annually. It is strongly believed that the implementation of "Kids Save Lives" project in schools can change this situation. The World Health Organization endorsed the ‘Kids Save Lives’ project in 2015 in order to reduce mortality. On the other hand the use of automatic external defibrillators (AED) is associated with higher survival rate after a cardiac arrest. Τo evaluate the level and the improvement of theoretical knowledge of secondary school students on the subject of AEDs  before and after the "Kids Save Lives" respectively. Material – Method: Data collection took place on the academic periods of 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 and was performed in secondary schools. A total of 5562 students participated on the "Kids save Lives" program according to the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) and World Health Organization (WHO) statement. A 12 point questionnaire was answered by the students before and after the "kids saves lives" program. Among other questions, there was one which investigate the knowledge of students in the usage of AEDs and another one asked students to refer a place, where somebody can find an AED. The training improves significantly the theoretical knowledge regarding the usage of AEDs, with the percentage of correct answers being 49 % and 85,9%, before and after the  course respectively (p < 0.001).  Moreover, only 19,8% of the students knew a place, where somebody can find an AED before  the course and 77,2% after the course (p < 0,001) The overall results strongly depict the benefits of "Kids Save Lives" program by improving the theoretical knowledge on the subject of AEDs. Further research is needed to identify the times a student must follow the program to maximize its effectiveness and more action must take place in order to make students familiar with AEDs.