Evaluation of a brief intervention designed to increase CPR training among pregnant pool owners

This study evaluated whether a brief videotape could motivate pregnant pool owners to be trained in infant/child cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Women were recruited from prenatal classes in South Florida. Eligible volunteers were randomized to view a video or receive standard treatment, after completing a questionnaire. The video explained toddler drowning risk, as well as the value of isolation pool fencing and CPR training. Women were contacted by phone 6 months after giving birth to complete a follow-up survey. Sixty-one percent of eligible mothers agreed to study enrollment and 92% of those completed a follow-up interview (n = 101). At baseline, there was no significant difference between the proportion of mothers with current CPR training in the treatment and control groups. At follow-up, 48% of those in the intervention group reported CPR instruction versus 28% of the control group (x(2) = 3.93, P = 0.03). Video viewers were also more likely to report significant changes in perceptions that favored CPR training. Health care facilities located in communities with high rates of toddler drowning may want to screen prenatal students for pool ownership and encourage at-risk families to be trained in infant/child CPR. Such programs should, however, emphasize the primacy of isolation fencing as a preventive measure.