Results achieved by emergency physicians in teaching basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation to secondary school students.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the results obtained with a basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation (b-CPR) program (PROCES) specifically designed for secondary school students (14-16 years old) and taught by emergency physicians. METHODS: We used a multiple-choice test with 20 questions (10 on theory and 10 on skills) answered before and immediately after and 1 year after receiving the b-CPR course. Satisfactory learning was considered when at least 8 out of 10 skill questions were correctly answered. We investigated student variables associated with better immediate and deferred (1 year after) PROCES performance. We compared the results with those obtained using a more standardized program to teach b-CPR to police cadets. RESULTS: We enrolled 600 high school students. PROCES achieved significant improvement in overall, theory and skill marks immediately after the course (P<0.001), with a significant decay in all of them 1 year after the course (P<0.001). Satisfactory learning was achieved by 57% of school students immediately after PROCES and by 37% when assessed 1 year later. Students without pending study subjects (P=0.001) and those from private schools (P<0.01) achieved significantly better performance immediately after PROCES and only female students achieved greater performance 1 year after the course (P<0.05). With respect to police cadets instructed through a standardized course, immediate satisfactory learning of school students was lower (79 vs. 57%, respectively; P<0.001), whereas deferred satisfactory learning was higher (23 vs. 37%, respectively; P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Emergency physicians can satisfactorily instruct secondary school students in b-CPR using PROCES, and this specific program achieves a reasonable amount of satisfactory learning.

Programa de Reanimación Cardiopulmonar Orientado a Centros de Enseñanza Secundaria (PROCES): conclusiones tras 5 años de experiencia / Cardiopulmonary resuscitation program for secondary schools (PROCES): conclusions after 5 years

Objetivo: Describir la experiencia adquirida tras 5 años de realizar formación en reanimación cardiopulmonar básica (RCP-b) a alumnos de enseñanza secundaria obligatoria(ESO), el porcentaje de aprendizaje satisfactorio inmediato y transcurrido un año desde la finalización del programa y los factores asociados a un buen aprendizaje. Método: El programa utilizado para este fin fue el Programa de Reanimació Orientat a Centres d’Ensenyament Secundari (PROCES). Se incluyeron a todos los alumnos que han completado el curso desde 2002 a 2007. Como instrumento de medida del aprendizaje satisfactorio se utilizó un test con 10 preguntas teóricas y 10 preguntas prácticas, el cual se contestó antes de realizar el PROCES e inmediatamente y un año después de concluirlo. Se estudió la influencia en el rendimiento de variables independientes relacionadas con el centro (titularidad, renta del barrio en el que se ubica), con el curso(curso curricular en el que se realiza, personal que desarrolla las clases prácticas) y con el alumno (edad, sexo, intención de estudiar ciencias de la salud, asignaturas pendientes de cursos previos y realización previa de un curso de socorrismo).Resultados: Durante estos 5 cursos académicos, han realizado el PROCES 1.501 alumnos. De ellos, 1.128 completaron el test antes y después del PROCES y 428 al cabo de un año. El porcentaje de aprendizaje satisfactorio inmediato fue del 58%, en tanto quela persistencia del mismo al cabo de un año fue del 42%. El estudio multivariado demostró que los centros privados, los centros situados en distritos de baja renta per cápita, el desarrollo del PROCES íntegramente por profesores del centro y la ausencia de asignaturas pendientes de cursos previos por parte del alumno se relacionaron de forma independiente con un mejor rendimiento inmediato, en tanto que sólo los dos últimos factores guardaron una relación significativa con la persistencia del aprendizaje. Conclusión: El PROCES, en manos de médicos especialistas en urgencias y emergencias, es una herramienta excelente para difundir los conocimientos en RCP entre los alumnos de ESO. Su afianzamiento durante los próximos años, así como su incorporación al currículo, pasa necesariamente por una apuesta clara y decidida de las administraciones públicas implicadas (AU)

Objective: To describe 5 years' experience in providing training in basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for students in Spanish obligatory secondary school education, including the percentage of satisfactory learning immediately after training and 1 year later; and to analyze factors associated with satisfactory learning. Methods: The trainers applied the CPR program developed for secondary schools (PROCES). All students who took the course from 2002 through 2007 were included. Learning was assessed with a test containing 10 items on theory and10 on practice; the test was administered immediately before and after the course and again a year later. We also studied the influence of independent variables related to school (public vs private, neighborhood per capita income),course (the grade when the CPR course was taken by a student, instructors giving the practical classes), and student(age, gender, intention to study a health science, courses failed in previous years, and whether a life-saving course had ever been taken).Results: A total of 1501 students took the PROCES course over 5 academic years. The test was taken immediately before and after the course by 1128 students; it was taken again a year later by 428 students. Fifty-eight percent had satisfactory test scores immediately after the course; 42% had satisfactory scores a year later. Multivariate analysis showed that private schools, those in neighborhoods with a low per capita income, those in which the PROCES course was given entirely by instructors belonging to the school, and not carrying failed subjects from previous years were the independent variables associated with better performance just after the course. However, only the last 2 factors were significantly related to maintenance of learning. Conclusion: The PROCES course in the hands of specialists in urgency and emergency medicine is an excellent tool for creating a broader base of CPR knowledge among secondary school students. Maintaining and extending the program over the coming years, as well as integrating it into the school curriculum, are matters that require clear commitment from the relevant public administrations (AU)