Basic Life Support
Conditions
Brief summary
Attrition of skills after basic life support (BLS) training is common. Psychology studies have established that for basic memory recall tasks, spaced learning strategies improve retention. Spaced learning is often organized as a refresher or 'booster' course after initial training. This study aims to investigate if this principle holds true for BLS skills, which require rapid memory recall and efficient deployment of procedural skills while under time pressure.
Detailed description
Health care professionals who have not received BLS training in the 6 months leading up to the date of participation will be recruited from local health care institutions in the greater-Ottawa area. Participants will be randomized into one of three groups: early booster, late booster, or no booster (control). Currently, no booster is the educational standard. The early booster group will receive a booster at 3 weeks, the late booster at 2 months, and no booster for the control. All participants will undergo BLS training, an immediate post-test, and a retention post-test at 4 months. Post-tests involve a simulated cardiac arrest scenario. Raters will be blinded to the group allocation and simulation test order.
Interventions
The early booster group will receive a booster teaching session at 3 weeks post-training followed by feedback.
The late booster group will receive a booster teaching session at 2 months post-training followed by feedback
Sponsors
Institut du Savoir Montfort
Hopital Montfort
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Masking description
Trained evaluators will rate a series of videos but will be blinded to which arm of the study participants are from.
Intervention model description
Participants randomized to one of three groups : early booster, late booster, or no booster (control group)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
-Healthcare professionals who interact with patients and have not received any BLS training or practice in the 6 months leading up to the date of their participation will be recruited.
Exclusion criteria
* under 18 years of age * non healthcare professionals * healthcare professionals who don't interact directly with patients * healthcare professionals who have completed Basic Life Support training in the previous six months
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Life Support Performance | 4 months | Basic Life Support performance, as measured by the standardized Heart and Stroke checklist score |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Time to start chest compressions | 4 months | Time from entering the scene to initiation of compression |
| Time to defibrillation | 4 months | Time from start to defibrillation with AED |
| Quality of CPR | 4 months | Hand placement on lower half of sternum, 30 compressions in no less than 15 and no more than 18 seconds, compresses at least 5 cm, complete recoil after each compression |
| Overall BLS performance | 4 months | Basic Life Support performance, as measured by the standardized Heart and Stroke checklist (PASS OR FAIL) |
Countries
Canada
Outcome results
None listed