Short lessons in basic life support improve self-assurance in performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation

BACKGROUND:There are several reasons why resuscitation measures may lead to inferior results:difficulties in team building,delayed realization of the emergency and interruption of chest compression.This study investigated the outcome of a new form of in-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation(CPR) training with special focus on changes in self-assurance of potential helpers when faced with emergency situations.METHODS:Following a 12-month period of CPR training,questionnaires were distributed to participants and non-participants.Those non-participants who intended to undergo the training at a later date served as control group.RESULTS:The study showed that participants experienced a significant improvement in selfassurance,compared with their remembered self-assurance before the training.Their self-assurance also was significantly greater than that of the control group of non-participants.CONCLUSION:Short lessons in CPR have an impact on the self-assurance of medical and non-medical personnel.