Early or Late Booster for Basic Life Support?

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Attrition of skills after basic life support (BLS) training is common. Psychology studies have established that for basic memory recall tasks, spaced learning strategies improve retention. Spaced learning is often organized as a refresher or 'booster' course after initial training. This study aims to investigate if this principle holds true for BLS skills, which require rapid memory recall and efficient deployment of procedural skills while under time pressure.

Detailed Description
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Novice laypeople who have not received BLS training in the 6 months leading up to the date of participation will be recruited from the University of Ottawa and the general public. Participants will be randomized into one of three groups: early booster, late booster, or no booster (control). Currently, no booster is the educational standard. The early booster group will receive a booster at 3 weeks, the late booster at 2 months, and no booster for the control. All participants will undergo BLS training, an immediate post-test, and a retention post-test at 4 months. Post-tests involve a simulated cardiac arrest scenario. Raters will be blinded to the group allocation and simulation test order.

Official Title
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Does an Early Booster Session Improve Performance and Retention of Skills in Basic Life Support Compared to a Later Booster? A Simulation Based Randomized Controlled Trial

Conditions
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Basic Life Support

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: Early Booster Teaching
* Other: Late Booster Teaching


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Laypeople who have not received any BLS training or practice in the 6 months leading up to the date of their participation will be recruited. Exclusion Criteria: Under 18 years old; Non layperson and Basic Life Training in less than 6 months.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Other
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Early Booster Teaching<br>The early booster group will receive a booster teaching session at 3 weeks post-training followed by feedback. | Other: Early Booster Teaching<br>* The early booster group will receive a booster teaching session at 3 weeks post-training followed by feedback.<br>|
| Active Comparator: Late booster Teaching<br>The late booster group will receive a booster teaching session at 2 months post-training followed by feedback. | Other: Late Booster Teaching<br>* The late booster group will receive a booster teaching session at 2 months post-training followed by feedback<br>|
| No Intervention: Control group<br>The control group will receive no booster at all. | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Basic Life Support performance, as measured by the standardized Heart and Stroke Heartsaver checklist | BLS performance, as measured by the standardized Heart and Stroke Heartsaver checklist | 4 months | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Time to start chest compression; | Time from entering the scene to initiation of compression (in seconds) | 4 months | 
| Accuracy of compression depth | Percentage of compressions that are deep enough | 4 months | 
| Compression ratio | The percentage of time during the scenario that compressions are done | 4 months | 
| Hand position | The percentage of time the hand position is correct | 4 months | 
| Tidal volume | Mean tidal volume (ml) | 4 months | 
| Ventilation success rate | The percentage of time ventilations are done with adequate volume 400-700mls | 4 months | 
| Time to defibrillation using AED. | Time from start to defibrillation using AED (in seconds) | 4 months | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Basic Life Support, Education, Medical, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, Learning