Is the public equipped to act in out of hospital cardiac emergencies?

Study objective: This study aimed to determine whether the people in Australia are informed about and prepared to intervene in a cardiac emergency. Methods: A cross sectional telephone survey, which contained sections regarding participant demographics, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training, knowledge of CPR, and the emergency contact number and potential barriers to performing chest compressions and mouth to mouth. Results: A total of 1489 people completed the questionnaire. Only 11% of the population had recently (<12 months) trained in CPR. When presented with a cardiac arrest scenario most participants stated that they would telephone 000. Significantly more respondents believed that they would give mouth to mouth to a family member compared with a stranger. A bleeding victim and fear of not having the skills were the most common barriers that reduced the participants perceived willingness to perform chest compressions and mouth to mouth. Conclusion: This study suggests that a low percentage of the public is currently trained in CPR and also that they are unprepared to act in a cardiac emergency.

[1]  J. McNeil,et al.  Asystolic cardiac arrest in Melbourne, Australia. , 2001, Emergency medicine.

[2]  J. McNeil,et al.  Results from the first 12 months of a fire first-responder program in Australia. , 2001, Resuscitation.

[3]  T. Taniguchi,et al.  Obstacles to bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation in Japan. , 2000, Resuscitation.

[4]  J Herlitz,et al.  Attitudes of trained Swedish lay rescuers toward CPR performance in an emergency. A survey of 1012 recently trained CPR rescuers. , 2000, Resuscitation.

[5]  J. McNeil,et al.  Out‐of‐hospital cardiac arrest , 2000, The Medical journal of Australia.

[6]  Jean C. O'Connor,et al.  Simple CPR: A randomized, controlled trial of video self-instructional cardiopulmonary resuscitation training in an African American church congregation. , 1999, Annals of emergency medicine.

[7]  D. Maki,et al.  Infections Acquired during Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: Estimating the Risk and Defining Strategies for Prevention , 1998, Annals of Internal Medicine.

[8]  R. Brennan,et al.  Are we training the right people yet? A survey of participants in public cardiopulmonary resuscitation classes. , 1998, Resuscitation.

[9]  A L Kellermann,et al.  Randomized, controlled trial of video self-instruction versus traditional CPR training. , 1998, Annals of emergency medicine.

[10]  M. Shuster,et al.  Preparation, attitudes and behaviour in nonhospital cardiac emergencies: evaluating a community's readiness to act. , 1998, The Canadian journal of cardiology.

[11]  D J Roe,et al.  Estimating effectiveness of cardiac arrest interventions: a logistic regression survival model. , 1997, Circulation.

[12]  W. Kaye,et al.  CPR training without an instructor: development and evaluation of a video self-instructional system for effective performance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. , 1997, Resuscitation.

[13]  G. Amith.  Revising educational requirements: challenging four hours for both basic life support and automated external defibrillators. , 1997, New horizons.

[14]  C. Weston,et al.  Predicting survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a multivariate analysis. , 1997, Resuscitation.

[15]  E. Gallagher,et al.  Effectiveness of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation and survival following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. , 1996, JAMA.

[16]  E. John Gallagher,et al.  Effectiveness of Bystander Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Survival Following Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest , 1995 .

[17]  Melinda F. Davis,et al.  Bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation : concerns about mouth-to-mouth contact , 1995 .

[18]  P. Steen,et al.  bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation influences outcome after prehospital cardiac arrest , 1994 .

[19]  J. Bahr.  CPR education in the community. , 1994, European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine.

[20]  L. Bossaert,et al.  Quality and efficiency of bystander CPR , 1993 .

[21]  I. Scott,et al.  Early defibrillation in out-of-hospital sudden cardiac death: an Australian experience. , 1993, Archives of emergency medicine.

[22]  L. Bossaert,et al.  Quality and efficiency of bystander CPR. Belgian Cerebral Resuscitation Study Group. , 1993, Resuscitation.

[23]  Jhn Bett.  Experience with a mobile coronary care unit in Brisbane. , 1989, Annals of emergency medicine.

[24]  M. Copass,et al.  Considerations for improving survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. , 1986, Annals of emergency medicine.

[25]  J. Gore,et al.  Layperson CPR--are we training the right people? , 1984, Annals of emergency medicine.

[26]  G. Duvel.  The study group. , 1980 .

[27]  B D PETROV,et al.  In Japan … , 1975, Sovetskoe zdravookhranenie.