To enhance the quality of CPR performed by youth layman

By educating laymen, survival after cardiac arrest can increase in society. It is difficult to reach the entire population with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training. However, if 15% of the population knows how to perform CPR, an increase in short- and long-term survival in patients suffering a cardiac arrest could be seen. To educate youth is a way to reach parts of the population. This study aimed to investigate the effect of a 2-h CPR intervention for youth.

Data were collected through an intervention utilizing simulation and consisted of a pre- and post-assessment of 50 participants' CPR performance.

The participants' compression depths are, after training, within guidelines. However, the compression rate increases from within limits (117) to become too fast (128). The range of the minimum compression rate rises from 70 to 92 which is an improvement. The ventilation volume increases from 112 ml in pre-test to 579 ml in post-test. In the pre-test, 88% of the participants did not succeed in securing an open airway; only six participants succeeded in securing an open airway. In the post-test, 49% of the participants underperform in the ventilation. However, only 12 participants failed in securing an open airway in the post-test. Compression recoil and hand position marginally improved from pre- to post-test.

Educating young people at school is one way to disseminate CPR knowledge in society. In this study, the ventilation of the patient arose as a major weakness. To be able to establish an open airway and ventilate the patient with the correct volume as well as to overcome the psychological barrier to initiate mouth-to-mouth ventilation seems to require more than 2 h training. The training may need to consist of repeated sessions over the year with feedback, to give young people the skills to perform CPR with good quality.