Abstract
BackgroundHealthcare professionals have shown concern about performing mouth-to-mouth ventilation due to the risks to themselves with the procedure. However, little is known about healthcare professionals' fears and attitudes to start CPR and the impact of training.ObjectiveTo examine whether there were any changes in the attitudes among healthcare professionals to performing CPR from before to after training.MethodsHealthcare professionals from two Swedish hospitals were asked to answer a questionnaire before and after training. The questions were relating to physical and mental discomfort and attitudes to CPR. Statistical analysis used was generalized McNemar's test.ResultsOverall, there was significant improvement in 10 of 11 items, reflecting various aspects of attitudes to CPR.All groups of health care professionals (physicians, nurses, assistant nurses, and "others" = physiotherapists, occupational therapists, social welfare officers, psychologists, biomedical analysts) felt more secure in CPR knowledge after education. In other aspects, such as anxiety prior to a possible cardiac arrest, only nurses and assistant nurses improved.The concern about being infected, when performing mouth to mouth ventilation, was reduced with the most marked reduction in physicians (75%; P < 0.001).ConclusionIn this hospital-based setting, we found a positive outcome of education and training in CPR concerning healthcare professionals' attitudes to perform CPR. They felt more secure in their knowledge of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. In some aspects of attitudes to resuscitation nurses and assistant nurses appeared to be the groups that were most markedly influenced. The concern of being infected by a disease was low.
Highlights
Cardiac arrest may occur anywhere in a hospital, and be discovered by any healthcare professional [1]
Training significantly influenced attitudes among the nurses and assistant nurses. Assistant nurses increased their secure attitude in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) knowledge by 19 percentage points, and they reported that they knew what to do if a cardiac arrest would occur
The physicians’ attitudes of feeling secure in their CPR knowledge were at the same level as for the nurses (70% felt secure after education vs. 52% before, Table 1)
Summary
Cardiac arrest may occur anywhere in a hospital, and be discovered by any healthcare professional [1]. Being difficult to prove, it is not unlikely that the attitude towards cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) among health care professionals is of importance for the chance of survival after cardiac arrest. Some of these professionals may be concerned about of the potential risks to themselves of starting CPR. Healthcare professionals have shown concern about performing mouth-to-mouth ventilation due to the risks to themselves with the procedure. Little is known about healthcare professionals’ fears and attitudes to start CPR and the impact of training
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