Compression Hand Protocol for School Children in COLS- CPR: Feasibility and Curriculum Consideration
Kirti Gujarkar, Alka Rawekar, Prajwal Mahatme, Anjali Borkar, Pratibha DeshmukhBackground:
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a key to survival of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). CPR needs proper skills and knowledge. Compression only CPR which concentrates only on circulation is as effective as conventional CPR which covers airway, breathing, and circulation. Schools are the best venues for sowing collective values in children and teachers and children can act as a great vehicle to carry knowledge to every home and thus to the community. The purpose of this study is to teach and assess the knowledge and attitude of school children about compression-only life support (COLS) protocol for CPR and its consideration in school curriculum.
Materials and Methods:
This study was performed in various schools at Nagpur, Maharashtra. Students (Age: −13–16) were considered for the training. As the school children considered for study are <18 years, school principal permission and written informed consent were obtained from parents/guardians, and assent was obtained from participating students prior to inclusion in the study, pre- and postquestionnaire data were collected after the session to get the results.
Results:
The study provides strong evidence for the effectiveness and feasibility of school-based COLS training. Willingness to perform CPR pre (36.8%) - posttraining, (96.3%), Call for help was pre- (17.3%) and posttraining (88.6%) identified. The knowledge regarding CPR was statistically increased pre- and posttraining session. The comparison of perceptions between students and teachers about integration of protocol in school curriculum revealed a statistically significant difference (
Conclusion:
The present study provides strong evidence that COLS training significantly enhances adolescents’ knowledge, confidence, and willingness to perform CPR, while garnering near-unanimous support from teachers for curriculum integration.