Senior citizens as rescuers: Is reduced knowledge the reason for omitted lay-resuscitation-attempts? Results from a representative survey with 2004 interviews

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 12; no. 6; p. e0178938
• Main Authors: Brinkrolf, Peter, Bohn, Andreas, Lukas, Roman-Patrik, Heyse, Marko, Dierschke, Thomas, Van Aken, Hugo Karel, Hahnenkamp, Klaus
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 12-06-2017; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age; Age differences; Age Factors; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Analysis; Anesthesiology; Bystander effect (Psychology); Cardiac arrest; Cardiac arrhythmia; Cardiopulmonary resuscitation; Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation - statistics & numerical data; Care and treatment; Confidence; Confidence intervals; CPR; Datasets; Elderly patients; Emergencies; Emergency medical services; Emergency services; Female; First Aid - statistics & numerical data; Heart; Heart diseases; Humans; Intensive care; Interviews; Knowledge; Laypersons; Male; Medical prognosis; Medicine and Health Sciences; Middle Aged; Older people; Optimization; Patients; People and Places; Polls & surveys; Population; Quality of life; Questionnaires; Registries; Resuscitation; Resuscitation - statistics & numerical data; Self-Assessment; Social Sciences; Socioeconomic Factors; Sociology; Statistical analysis; Surveys and Questionnaires; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0178938

Resuscitation (CPR) provided by a bystander prior to the arrival of the emergency services is a beneficial factor for surviving a cardiac arrest (CA). Our registry-based data show, that older patients receive bystander-CPR less frequently. Little is known on possible reasons for this finding. We sought to investigate the hypothesis that awareness of CPR measures is lower in older laypersons being a possible reason for less CPR-attempts in senior citizens.
1206 datasets on bystander resuscitations actually carried out were analyzed for age-dependent differences. Subsequently, we investigated whether the knowledge required carrying out bystander-CPR and the self-confidence to do so differ between younger and older citizens using computer-assisted telephone interviewing. 2004 interviews were performed and statistically analyzed.
A lower level of knowledge to carry out bystander-CPR was seen in older individuals. For example, 82.4% of interviewees under 65 years of age, knew the correct emergency number. In this group, 66.6% named CPR as the relevant procedure in CA. Among older individuals these responses were only given by 75.1% and 49.5% (V = 0.082; P < 0.001 and V = 0.0157; P < 0.001). Additionally, a difference concerning participants' confidence in their own abilities was detectable. 58.0% of the persons younger than 65 years were confident that they would detect a CA in comparison to 44.6% of the participants older than 65 years (V = 0.120; P < 0.001). Similarly, 62.7% of the interviewees younger than 65 were certain to know what to do during CPR compared to 51.3% of the other group (V = 0.103; P < 0.001).
Lower levels of older bystanders' knowledge and self-confidence might provide an explanation for why older patients receive bystander-CPR less frequently. Further investigation is necessary to identify causal connections and optimum ways to empower bystander resuscitation.