Early or Late Booster in Basic Life Support for Health Care Professionals

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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Health care professionals who have not received BLS training in the 6 months leading up to the date of participation will be recruited from local health care institutions in the greater-Ottawa area. 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 Basic Life Support Skills Compared to a Late Booster in Health Care Professionals? 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: -Healthcare professionals who interact with patients and 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 of age non healthcare professionals healthcare professionals who don't interact directly with patients healthcare professionals who have completed Basic Life Support training in the previous six 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: Health Services Research
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Interventional Model Description: Participants randomized to one of three groups : early booster, late booster, or no booster (control group)
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 teaching at all. | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

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

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Time to start chest compressions | Time from entering the scene to initiation of compression | 4 months | 
| Time to defibrillation | Time from start to defibrillation with AED | 4 months | 
| Quality of CPR | Hand placement on lower half of sternum, 30 compressions in no less than 15 and no more than 18 seconds, compresses at least 5 cm, complete recoil after each compression | 4 months | 
| Overall BLS performance | Basic Life Support performance, as measured by the standardized Heart and Stroke checklist (PASS OR FAIL) | 4 months |