Clinical trial NCT06955351: REsuscitation Survey of Police Officers in New Taipei City for Duty
Official title: Survey of Willingness of Police Force in New Taipei City to Participate in Prehospital Resuscitation
Study type: OBSERVATIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Conditions: Bystander
Chest Compression
Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest
AED
Police
Willingness to Participate
Keywords: Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA)
police
Willingness
AED
CPR
Lead sponsor: Far Eastern Memorial Hospital
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: New Taipei City Police Department
name: New Taipei City Fire Department
First posted: 2025-05-02
Enrollment: 4867
Sex: ALL
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Observational model: ECOLOGIC_OR_COMMUNITY
Time perspective: CROSS_SECTIONAL
Sampling method: NON_PROBABILITY_SAMPLE
Study population: Frontline Police Officers in New Taipei City

Brief summary: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) remains a time-critical emergency where early cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and timely defibrillation using an automated external defibrillator (AED) are key to improving survival and neurological outcomes. Although Taipei has implemented dispatch-assisted CPR, delays remain between arrest recognition and AED application due to manpower and policy limitations. International guidelines, including the Global Resuscitation Alliance's ten steps to improve OHCA outcomes, recommend involving police as first responders. Prior studies from the United States and Switzerland demonstrate that police often arrive before emergency medical services (EMS), underscoring their potential role in reducing response times. However, police have not been officially included in OHCA dispatch systems in any region of Taiwan. This study aims to evaluate the willingness of police officers in New Taipei City to participate in prehospital resuscitation through a structured questionnaire. The survey also explores perceived facilitators and barriers to involvement. Findings will inform future training programs and strategies to promote police integration into prehospital emergency response systems, with the ultimate goal of improving OHCA survival rates.

Detailed description: For patients with emergency cardiopulmonary arrest before arriving at the hospital, every second counts, especially good early cardiopulmonary resuscitation (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, CPR) and early use of automated external defibrillator (Automated External Defibrillator, referred to as AED), which can increase the patient's recovery of autonomous cardiopulmonary opportunity to cycle. After the introduction of online Dispatch-assisted CPR from Taipei, the survival rate and the rate of discharge with good neurology improved. Unfortunately, due to the limitations of manpower space and policies, the proportion and time from the successful identification of cardiopulmonary arrest to the first use of public electric shock is still relatively long. Ten guidelines recommended by the Global Resuscitation Alliance to improve survival for patients with pre-hospital cardiac arrest also recommend including police as first responders. Through more intensive manpower distribution, response times and shock times can be reduced, and these advances have also successfully improved survival rates. According to studies in the United States and Switzerland in 2002 and 2017, respectively, the police arrived at the scene faster than the emergency medical technician, which is also in line with the purpose of reducing reaction time and improving the survival rate of patients. No county or city in Taiwan has officially included the police in the OHCA dispatch. This study uses a questionnaire survey to understand the New Taipei City police's willingness to participate in the first aid and resuscitation of patients with cardiopulmonary arrest before hospitalization. At the same time, we will further analyze and understand the assistance and resistance of participating in emergency resuscitation. After the study is completed, courses such as education and training will be designed according to the results, and efforts will be made to reduce resistance, so that the police can be more involved in pre-hospital emergency resuscitation, in order to further improve the survival chances of patients with pre-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* New Taipei City Government Police

Exclusion Criteria:

* Those who are unwilling to fill out this questionnaire or feel physically or mentally unwell while filling it out

Primary outcomes:
measure: Willingness to Perform CPR and Use an AED at the Scene of an Emergency
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Willingness to Receive AED Location Notification and Assist in Delivery and Use
timeFrame: Baseline
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Sex
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Year of Birth
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Education Level
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Marital Status
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Years of Service
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Co-residence with Elderly
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Awareness of AED
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Ability to Identify AED in Public
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Willingness to Use CPR + AED in Emergencies
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Concerns About Performing CPR + AED (Multiple Selection)
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Confidence in Performing CPR
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Confidence in Using AED
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Belief in Ability to Accurately Perform CPR
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Belief in Ability to Accurately Use AED
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Previous Training in CPR + AED
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Timing of Most Recent CPR + AED Training
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Type and Duration of Last Training
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Perceived Eligibility to Use AED
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Willingness to Use CPR + AED on Strangers
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Reasons for Unwillingness to Perform CPR + AED on Strangers (Multiple Selection)
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Belief that the Public Should Learn CPR + AED
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Willingness to Attend Free CPR + AED Course
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Willingness to Spend Time on Free CPR + AED Course
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Main Reason for Not Attending Free CPR + AED Course
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Awareness of Good Samaritan Law
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Impact of Good Samaritan Law on Willingness to Perform CPR + AED
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Reasons for Unwillingness to Deliver and Use an AED (Multiple Selection)
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Incentives That May Increase Willingness to Deliver and Use an AED (Multiple Selection)
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Reasons for Unwillingness to Perform CPR and Use an AED at the Scene (Multiple Selection)
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Incentives That May Increase Willingness to Perform CPR and Use an AED at the Scene (Multiple Selection)
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Perceived Effectiveness of Police Administering CPR and AED Before EMS Arrival
timeFrame: Baseline
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: New Taipei City
country: Taiwan
facility: Far Eastern Memorinal Hospital
Study officials:
affiliation: Far Eastern Memorinal Hospital
name: Jen Tang Sun, Chief of Emergency Surgery
role: STUDY_CHAIR
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