Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing

Survival-to-hospital discharge rates remain low for outside-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in the U.S. largely due to delays in activating the American Heart Association (AHA)’s chain of survival for adult OHCAs. There is a growing need to equip non-medical volunteers in parish communities to respond effectively to medical emergencies during worship services. Literature indicates that bystander-initiated CPR achieves outcomes comparable to physician-initiated CPR. Chest-compression only CPR for bystanders has been shown to yield similar survival rates to conventional CPR with ventilation, making it a viable alternative for bystanders. The project was guided by the Johns Hopkins Evidence-Based Practice Model/Framework. The project occurred at a local non-denominational church in Southern California. Sixteen volunteers included adult and adolescent (12+) Parish volunteers. The intervention included a 2-hour in-person didactic and hands-on practice session provided by a registered nurse, utilizing the American Heart Association’s Hands-Only CPR and AED training with a live feedback mannikin device. Pre- and post-intervention surveys measuring willingness and knowledge of CPR-AED use were collected before and immediately after using the validated Factors Influencing Community Willingness to Perform Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Use AED (FIXED) questionnaire. Sixteen participants (n=6 males and n=10 females) of which two (12.5%) are students, four (25%) are working in healthcare-related careers, ten (62.5%) are working in non-healthcare related careers. A 20% increase in pre- and post-intervention surveys was shown in the willingness domain, specifically for the slightly more, moderately, and extremely confident points of the FIXED questionnaire tool utilized. There is also an increase in intention to conduct CPR in a stranger, elderly, child, and family member. A total score of ≥14 (out of 18 questions) is reflective of a participant's “good” grasp of CPR-AED use knowledge defined as ≥75%. The pre-intervention participants’ “good” knowledge score was 0% (0 of 16 participants), whereas the post-intervention “good” knowledge score was achieved by 81.25% (13 of 16) of the participants. Overall, the primary and secondary outcomes were achieved as evidenced by the overall improved willingness and knowledge of CPR/AED use. The project site acknowledges the positive outcomes and has agreed to continue bi-annual comprehensive CPR/AED training to encourage knowledge retention and continual improvement of willingness to conduct bystander CPR/AED during a cardiac arrest emergency. Future data will be collected from the 6-month intervention training.