Abstract 357: Will a College Student Perform Conventional Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation on a Stranger?

Abstract

Background: For many years, significant effort has been placed on training students in CPR earlyto develop a generation of bystanders willing to act during a cardiac arrest event. This traininghas focused on chest compression only CPR (CCO-CPR) to increase provision and decreasebarriers. More recently, with the increase in opioid overdoses, there is a need for CPR withrescue breathing. It is unclear whether college students are willing to provide compressionswith rescue breaths (conventional CPR). The objective of this study is to evaluate the intentionof college students to perform conventional CPR and determine the characteristics associatedwith CPR performance. Methods: A two-page survey was administered to Ohio State University undergraduatestudents in pre-health and non-health related career paths from Jan 2018-Dec 2019.Respondents’ demographic data were collected including age, sex, CPR training, family risk ofcardiac arrest and the student’s career path. Respondents were asked their attitudes concerningperforming CPR (conventional or hands-only CPR) on strangers. Inclusion criteria were age >17and missing < 10% of survey data. Descriptive statistics were calculated and a multivariablelogistic regression model (OR, 95% CI) was constructed to assess the association between thelikelihood of performing CPR on a stranger and demographic characteristics. Results: Surveys were received from 883 students (response rate 74%). The student populationhad a high rate of CPR training with 57% (482) with either CCO-CPR or conventional CPRtraining. A large number of students were also studying to be in a healthcare related field (529,60%). Overall, college students reported that they would perform CCO-CPR more thanconventional CPR on a stranger (78% vs 56%, respectively). Odds of performing conventionalCPR on a stranger was elevated in college students trained in CPR (5.16, 3.82-6.99), studying in ahealthcare related field (1.78, 1.31-2.43), and with a family member at risk for cardiac arrest(1.49, 1.07-2.07). Conclusion: College students are willing to perform conventional CPR on strangers and thelikelihood of provision increases with CPR training, healthcare field of study, or having at riskfamily members.