Effects of a media campaign on resuscitation performance of bystanders: a manikin study

Cardiac arrest is associated with a poor outcome if cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is delayed. Nevertheless, CPR performance by laypersons in witnessed cardiac arrest is frequently poor. The present study evaluated the effect of a media campaign on CPR performance.

CPR performance of 1000 individuals who did not have any medical background was evaluated using a resuscitation manikin. The media campaign consisted of flyers, posters, and electronic advertisement. Five hundred individuals were evaluated before the media campaign and 500 individuals after the media campaign. Age and male/female ratio were comparable within each of the groups. Premedia campaign performance was compared with postmedia campaign performance with respect to chest compressions and ventilation metrics.

Chest compression depth and total compression work were significantly higher after the media campaign: median depth 51 mm postcampaign versus 45 mm precampaign (P<0.001), median cumulative compression work postcampaign 4176 versus 2462 mm precampaign (P<0.001). Tidal volumes and ventilation work were significantly lower following the media campaign, but did not differ between participants who had acknowledged exposure to the campaign and those who did not. Ventilation performance was generally poor across the two groups both before and after the media campaign.

A simple and cost-efficient media campaign appears to enhance the performance of chest compressions. Ventilation performance and the rate of CPR performance were not increased by the campaign.