Abstract 11964: Citizen Responders Provide Emotional Support for Relatives to Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Patients

Abstract

Introduction: A citizen responder (CR) system to activate volunteer citizens by a smartphone application (HeartRunner) to nearby cardiac arrests was implemented in 2017 in the Capital Region of Denmark. Participating in resuscitation may not only involve provision of cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) but also include provision of emotional support for relatives to the cardiac arrest patient. We examined the proportion of CR who reported provision of support to relatives to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients during resuscitation attempt. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that CR not only deliver CPR but also provide emotional support to relatives of OHCA patients. Methods: All CR activated by the HeartRunner app received a follow-up questionnaire 90 minutes after the alarm including questions about how CRs participated in resuscitation and whether they provided emotional support to relatives present during the resuscitation attempt. All surveys from March 12, 2020 to June 1, 2021, from CR who accepted an alarm and arrived at the cardiac arrest location were included. Results: A total of 1,868 CR responded to the survey (median age 37 years (IQR 28-37). Half (54.4%) were male and 23.9% health care professionals. CRs arrived before the emergency medical services (EMS) in almost 1/3 (28.9%) of OHCA cases with CR activation, with 227 CRs (41.9%) performing CPR and 139 (25.7%) attaching an automated external defibrillator. In total, more than 433 CRs (23.2%) reported provision of support for relatives at the OHCA location. Even though a higher proportion of support was observed among CR who arrived before the EMS, almost 12% reported provision of support to relatives even when arriving after EMS (Figure). Conclusions: Citizen responders provide not only resuscitative efforts but offer emotional support to relatives to OHCA patients. Citizen responders may be an important resource for both EMS personnel and relatives who are present at the cardiac arrest scene.