Emotional Impact of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Training on High School Students

• Main Authors: Abdullah Alismail, Evelyn Massey, Cassaundra Song, Noha Daher, Michael H. Terry, David López, Laren Tan, Takkin Lo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2018-01-01
• Series: Frontiers in Public Health
• Subjects: cardiopulmonary resuscitation; heart arrest; sudden death; CPR; emotions; high school
• Online Access: http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpubh.2017.00362/full

BackgroundThe American Heart Association (AHA) has implemented several programs to educate the public about cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). A common issue in bystander CPR is the fear of hurting the victim. As a result, the victim may not receive CPR in time. The purpose of this study was to measure the emotional impact of CPR training on high school students using two approved AHA courses.MethodsA total of 60 students participated in this study. These students had a mean age of 15.4 ± 1.2 years old and were selected from a high school in Southern California. Subjects were divided into two groups, Basic Life Support (BLS) (n1 = 31) and Hands-Only™ CPR (n2 = 29). Emotional impacts were assessed by having each subject answer a questionnaire based on given scenarios before and after their training session.ResultsThere was a significant difference in both groups when comparing positive-emotion scores before and after the training (BLS: 30.3 ± 6.0 vs. 34.5 ± 6.7, p < 0.001; Hands-Only 27.9 ± 5.0 vs. 32.1 ± 6.5, p < 0.001). In addition, both groups showed significant reductions in negative-emotion scores (BLS: 29.2 ± 6.7 vs. 23.7 ± 6.5, p < 0.001 and Hands-Only: 26.8 ± 6.1vs. 24.8 ± 7.7, p = 0.05).ConclusionOur results indicate that the AHA programs have positive effects on students’ emotional response. We recommend that future studies include an in-depth study design that probes the complexity of students’ emotions after completing an AHA session.