Effectiveness of CPR training to school-aged children in gaining knowledge and competence

Abstract

Background: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is one of the leading causes of mortality globally, making it a worldwide public health issue (Al Jufaili, 2018). Research suggests that teaching CPR to at least 15-20% of the general population could significantly decrease the mortality of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) (Connolly et al., 2007). However, the effectiveness of school-children performing CPR may be questioned, hence, this dissertation attempts to identify the effectiveness of CPR training in increasing school children’s knowledge and competence. Research Question and PICO Elements: ‘How effective is CPR training provided to schoolaged children in gaining knowledge and competence in performing it?’. The population (P) included school children. The intervention (I) was CPR training. The comparison (C) was no training. The outcomes (O) of interest were knowledge and competence. Method: A literature search was achieved by identifying keywords, synonyms, Boolean operators and limiters. Four search engines were utilised for a comprehensive search. The criteria for eligibility were composed of peer-reviewed literature written in English, published in the last five years and targeting all the PICO elements. The five key studies chosen for critical appraisal included four quasi-experiments and 1 RCT. The process of the search was illustrated through the PRISMA flow diagram. The JBI critical appraisal tool was used as a guideline for critical appraisal. Results and Conclusion: All five key studies demonstrated statistically significant improvement in school-children’s knowledge and competence in CPR after training. Despite this, the chosen studies provided some inconsistencies, indicating the need for further research to obtain the most reliable results. Implications and Recommendations: Future studies should employ the most robust study designs with optimal sample sizes. Moreover, researchers should endeavour school-children’s longitudinal knowledge and skill retention from CPR training and investigate the best age to implement the training. Lastly, the initiative to introduce CPR training to school children must be achieved to strive for better OHCA survival rates.