The long term goal of our work is to implement real world CPR training strategies that match training locales with at-risk populations, maximize resuscitation skill retention, and promote willingness to act. To accomplish this, we will empower stakeholders at UPHS hospitals to develop local implementation approaches, using either UPHS volunteers or nursing staff as VSI proctors. These stakeholders will be studied as a research subset. The VSI proctors will use the AHAs CPR Anytime kit, and will work with family members of patients at high risk for a CA to learn lifesaving CPR skills. We will use a modified AHA CPR video using the new AHA recommendations for bystanders which suggests doing chest compression only CPR. Using the original AHA video and the modified chest compression only video, we will randomize family members of patients at high risk for CA to one of these groups. The VSI proctors will also be blinded to which video these subjects will be watching. We will follow up with the family members at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months to see if they retained their CPR knowledge and skills and to see if they had been in a situation where their CPR skills were needed and assess whether they performed their skills or not. We will also measure the number of people with whom the subjects shared their CPR Anytime kits a quantity known as the multiplier effect to determine if they had shared the CPR Anytime kit with their family and friends, thereby increasing the possible number of lay persons trained in CPR and in turn able to perform bystander CPR if needed. We will also assess the perceptions and attitudes of the nurses and volunteers regarding this project.
