Barriers and Facilitators to Community CPR Education in San José, Costa Rica

Bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) improves survival after prehospital cardiac arrest. While community CPR training programs have been implemented across the US, little is known about their acceptability in non-US Latino populations.

The purpose of this study was to identify barriers to enrolling in CPR training classes and performing CPR in San José, Costa Rica.

After consulting 10 San José residents, a survey was created, pilot-tested, and distributed to a convenience sample of community members in public gathering places in San José. Questions included demographics, CPR knowledge and beliefs, prior CPR training, having a family member with heart disease, and prior witnessing of a cardiac arrest. Questions also addressed barriers to enrolling in CPR classes (cost/competing priorities). The analysis focused on two main outcomes: likelihood of registering for a CPR class and willingness to perform CPR on an adult stranger. Odds ratios and 95% CIs were calculated to test for associations between patient characteristics and these outcomes.

Among 371 participants, most were male (60%) and <40 years old (77%); 31% had a college degree. Many had family members with heart disease (36%), had witnessed a cardiac arrest (18%), were trained in CPR (36%), and knew the correct CPR steps (70%). Overall, 55% (95% CI, 50-60%) indicated they would "likely" enroll in a CPR class; 74% (95% CI, 70-78%) would perform CPR on an adult stranger. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation class enrollment was associated with prior CPR training (OR: 2.6; 95% CI, 1.6-4.3) and a prior witnessed cardiac arrest (OR: 2.0; 95% CI, 1.1-3.5). Willingness to perform CPR on a stranger was associated with a prior witnessed cardiac arrest (OR: 2.5; 95% CI, 1.2-5.4) and higher education (OR: 1.9; 95% CI, 1.1-3.2). Believing that CPR does not work was associated with a higher likelihood of not attending a CPR class (OR: 2.4; 95% CI, 1.7-7.9). Fear of performing mouth-mouth, believing CPR is against God's will, and fear of legal risk were associated with a likelihood of not attending a CPR class and not performing CPR on a stranger (range of ORs: 2.4-3.9).

Most San José residents are willing to take CPR classes and perform CPR on a stranger. To implement a community CPR program, barriers must be considered, including misgivings about CPR efficacy and legal risk. Hands-only CPR programs may alleviate hesitancy to perform mouth-to-mouth. Schmid KM , Mould-Millman NK , Hammes A , Kroehl M , Quiros García R , Umaña McDermott M , Lowenstein SR . Barriers and facilitators to community CPR education in San José, Costa Rica. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2016;31(5):509-515.