Introduction: Sudden cardiac arrest is one of the most common causes of death in the world. In economically developed countries with a high level of organization of emergency medical services, the number of resuscitation measures carried out by the public is much higher compared to countries such as Ukraine. Today, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in the prehospital phase, although crucial in the emergency care system, remains a weak link in the survival chain. Lack of systematic CPR training leads to the loss of acquired knowledge over time. Therefore, CPR training should be actively implemented during the school years. With the increase in the number of schoolchildren who will study CPR, the share of people who have approximately professional skills in resuscitation should increase in the future.

Aim: The aim of our work was to assess the degree of readiness of schoolchildren and their parents for the early implementation of basic life support training.

Materials and methods: Questionnaires were developed, which included the main questions and indicators on the attitude of schoolchildren and their parents to the early implementation of basic life support training. The questionnaires contained questions aimed at determining the attitude of children and their parents to the need for CPR training. Participants were presented with a line of answers, among which respondents had to choose only one. These included: “strongly disagree”; “No, do not agree”; “We do not agree”; “We rather agree; “Agree”; “Absolutely agree” with the statements that were proposed in the questionnaire. The group of respondents included 236 people, including 118 schoolchildren of the primary school in Sumy and 118 – their parents. The survey was conducted anonymously.

Results: According to our research, it was found that the majority of students (63.5%) and their parents (71.2%) believe that CPR education should begin in primary school; CPR training is conducted in schools by qualified medical staff; most respondents supported the view that school teachers should be competent in teaching CPR; a high percentage of parents and children believe that CPR training will increase schoolchildrens’ trust in doctors; more than 60% of schoolchildren and parents consider it appropriate to start CPR in schools; 75.4% of schoolchildren and 78.8% of parents believe that schoolchildren are not afraid to use CPR, despite the infections they can get from contact with a person who needs help; parents believe that schoolchildren are mentally able to learn CPR methods.

Conclusion: Thus, the results of the survey do not indicate that children and their parents have a high interest with a high degree of readiness to master the skills of basic life support and are ready to apply them despite the difficulties and threats they may face during resuscitation. Therefore, there is a need to organize training in basic life support for schoolchildren.