A comfortability level scale for performance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation

The major purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to appraise the comfortability level of college students toward cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) performance. The Purdue CPR Comfortability Scale was designed to measure five major areas of possible discomfort that are experienced while performing CPR on a human victim in an actual emergency situation. A table of specifications was constructed to establish content validity. This table presented the appropriate balance of emphasis on attitudinal topics in accord with the areas to be measured. Three subconcepts were developed for each of the five major areas specified. Therefore, the summated scale included a total of 15 items. A higher score indicated a higher level of comfortability toward CPR performance. An analysis of the mental processes required by the scale items in expressing affective reactions to the selected circumstances, and a comparison of student comfortability levels before and after CPR training indicated construct validity of the instrument. The scale was administered as a pretest to gather data on 317 first aid students at Purdue University. After five weeks of CPR training, the scale was readministered as a posttest. Split-half reliability methods were used to determine the internal consistency of the scale. High internal consistency (.84 Spearman-Brown) and a high level of scale administrability were demonstrated and it was concluded that the Purdue CPR Comfortability Scale is a valid self-report instrument for appraising the comfortability level of college students toward CPR performance.