Developing lifesaving skills in children: a simulation-based randomized controlled trial in schools

Basic Life Support education for schoolchildren is crucial to increase bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation rates. This study assessed schoolchildren's cardiopulmonary resuscitation knowledge and skill retention six months after a single Basic Life Support training session delivered by medical students.

This was a simulation-based randomized controlled trial conducted in 2024 with students aged 11-16 from 6 schools in Caxias do Sul, Brazil. Intervention Group received a single theoretical-practical Basic Life Support training by medical students with a QCPR manikin. Control Group received no intervention. After six months, both groups underwent practical evaluation through a simulated cardiac-arrest scenario with manikin and completed a knowledge questionnaire. The primary outcome, chest compression quality (0-100), was measured using Laerdal Resusci Anne QCPR manikin software, assessing depth, rate, recoil. Secondary outcomes included Basic Life Support knowledge scores (multiple-choice questionnaire) and percentage of students performing the three resuscitation steps on the manikin (recognition, activating emergency, initiating compressions). Evaluators were blinded to group allocation.

198 students completed the study (Intervention: 105; Control: 93). Six months post-training, Intervention Group significantly outperformed Control Group in completing the resuscitation sequence and achieved higher knowledge scores. Chest compression quality was higher in the Intervention Group (mean compression quality score: 51.71 vs. 17.81; p < 0.001).

A single-session Basic Life Support training delivered by medical students improves and sustains theoretical and practical skills in schoolchildren for at least six months. These findings provide evidence for implementing brief Basic Life Support programs in schools as a public health strategy.