Assessment of the Quality of Bystander Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Instructions Provided to Callers by 9-1-1 Telecommunicators to Improve Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Outcomes

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to evaluate if 9-1-1 telecommunicators provide T-CPR instructions that reflect best practices identified in the literature by assessing rate, depth, hand position, and coaching instructions delivered during simulated calls. The study aims: 1) How close are T-CPR instructions provided to best practices, and 2) How much variation is there among call centers using similar guidelines? The data for the study were collected as part of a large randomized controlled trial with 128 telecommunicator participants from 13 call centers. Each had two assessment calls; a total of 256 calls in the study sample. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results show T-CPR instructions for depth and hand position are close to best practices. Only one of 13 call centers provided best practice for rate. Also, despite using similar guidelines, there are variations between call centers. Further research is needed to understand why call centers do not provide rate with best practice and to determine if coaching improves bystander CPR and identify coaching best practices.