Teaching basic life support to the general population. Alumni intervention analysis

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the rate at which the alumni of basic life support courses witnessed and intervened in out-of-hospital emergency situations, and to identify the variables characterizing those alumni associated with a greater number of witnessing events and interventions. An analysis of the efficiency of the courses was also carried out. Design: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was made. Setting: A district in the province of Almeria (Spain). Patients: Alumni of a mass basic life support training program targeted to the general population "Plan Salvavidas" conducted between 2003-2009. Interventions: In 2010 the alumni were administered a telephone survey asking whether they had witnessed an emergency situation since attending the program, with the collection of information related to this emergency situation. Main variables of interest: Rate of out-of-hospital emergencies witnessed by the alumni. Rate of intervention of the alumni in emergency situations. Variables characterizing alumni with a greater likelihood of witnessing an emergency situation. Results: A total of 3,864 trained alumni were contacted by telephone. Of 1,098 respondents, 63.9% were women, and the mean age was 26.61 +/- 10.6 years. Of these alumni, 11.75% had witnessed emergency situations, an average of three years after completing the course. Of these emergencies, 23.3% were identified as cardiac arrest. The alumni intervened in 98% of the possible cases. In 63% of the cases, there was no connection between the alumni and the victim. The majority of the emergency situations occurred in the street and in public spaces. A greater likelihood of witnessing an emergency situation was associated with being a healthcare worker and with being over 18 years of age. Conclusions: The rate of out-of-hospital emergencies witnessed by these alumni after the course was 11.75%. The level of intervention among the alumni was high. The most efficient target population consisted of healthcare workers. (C) 2013 Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. and SEMICYUC. All rights reserved.