Influence of pre-course assessment using an emotionally activating stimulus with feedback: A pilot study in teaching Basic Life Support

Abstract: Background: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) mastery continues to challenge medical professionals. The purpose of this study was to determine if an emotional stimulus in combination with peer or expert feedback during pre-course assessment effects future performance in a single rescuer simulated cardiac arrest. Methods: First-year medical students (n =218) without previous medical knowledge were randomly assigned to one of the study groups and asked to take part in a pre-course assessment: Group 1: after applying an emotionally activating stimulus an expert (instructor) gave feedback on CPR performance (Ex). Group 2: after applying the same stimulus feedback was provided by a peer from the same group (Pe); Group 3: standard without feedback (S). Following pre-course assessment, all subjects received a standardized BLS-course, were tested after 1week and 6months later using single-rescuer-scenario, and were surveyed using standardized questionnaires (6-point-likert-scales: 1=completely agree, 6=completely disagree). Results: Participants exposed to stimulus demonstrated superior performance concerning compression depth after 6months independent of feedback-method (Ex: 65.85% [p =0.0003]; Pe: 57.50% [p =0.0076] vs. 21.43%). The expert- more than the peer-group was emotionally more activated in initial testing, Ex: 3.26±1.35 [p ≤0.0001]; Pe: 3.73±1.53 [p =0.0319]; S: 4.25±1.37) and more inspired to think about CPR (Ex: 2.03±1.37 [p =0.0119]; Pe: 2.07±1.14 [p =0.0204]; S: 2.60±1.55). After 6months this activation effect was still detectable in the expert-group (p =0.0114). Conclusions: The emotional stimulus approach to BLS-training seems to impact the ability to provide adequate compression depth up to 6months after training. Furthermore, pre-course assessment helped to keep the participants involved beyond initial training. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]