Developing and evaluating a brief, socially primed video intervention to enable bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation: A randomised control trial

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundOver 30,000 people experience out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in the United Kingdom annually, with only 7-8% of patients surviving. One of the most effective methods of improving survival outcomes is prompt bystander intervention in the form of calling the emergency services and initiating chest compressions, also known as CPR. Additionally, the public must feel empowered to take action and use this knowledge in an emergency. This study aimed to evaluate an ultra-brief CPR familiarisation video that uses empowering social priming language to frame CPR as a norm in Scotland.MethodsIn a randomised control trial, participants (n= 86) were assigned to view either an ultra-brief CPR video intervention or a traditional long form CPR video intervention. Following completion of a pre-intervention questionnaire examining demographic variables and prior CPR knowledge, participants completed an emergency services-led resuscitation simulation in a portable simulation suite using a CPR manikin that measures resuscitation quality. Participants then completed questionnaires examining social identity and attitudes towards performing CPR.ResultsAside from the CPR quality metrics of time carrying out CPR chest compressions (where the ultra-brief video condition scored higher scores) and average compressions per minute (where the long form video condition scored higher scores), there were no significant differences in CPR quality between the two conditions. Regarding the social identity measures, participants in the ultra-brief video condition scored higher on measures of “shared social identity with the video instructor” and “expected emergency support from other Scottish people”. There were no significant group differences in attitudes towards performing CPR.ConclusionsUltra-brief CPR video interventions hold promise as a method of equipping the public with basic resuscitation skills and empowering the viewer to intervene in an emergency. These interventions may be an effective avenue for equipping at-risk groups with resuscitation skills and for supplementing traditional resuscitation training courses.