Life matters. We believe that with more trained rescuers, we will save lives today and in the future. Despite advancements in rescue efforts and CPR training, the out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival rate remains abysmally low.
Studies say that this rate has remained at around 10% for half a century. That’s too low for too long. Our mission is to see this statistic rise — but to do that, we need to understand what’s kept it so low.
Here are the eight biggest issues you can help us tackle in our efforts to increase the out-of-hospital survival rate.
8 Roadblocks to CPR Training & Rescue
Increasing the out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival rate should be as simple as training more people to administer CPR. However, several challenges prevent most people from getting and applying that training.
Lack of Awareness
Not everyone is required to learn CPR for their job. Unfortunately, this means many people don’t learn it at all, because:
- They think CPR training is only for medical professionals.
- They believe they’re unlikely to need to perform CPR in their daily lives.
- They don’t realize CPR training is available for everyone.
People who are unaware of the importance and accessibility of CPR training are unlikely to seek it out for themselves.
Fortunately, this roadblock is fairly simple to overcome. You can increase awareness about the importance of CPR by getting trained and certified yourself. Then you can encourage others around you to do the same.
Fear of Making a Mistake
Even with training, many people feel anxious about the idea of performing CPR in a real-life emergency. They worry they could cause more harm, become hurt or contaminated in the process, or even be sued by the victim or the victim’s family if something goes wrong.
To overcome this blocker, we need to address those fears. It’s understandable to be afraid of causing harm. But remember, when someone has suffered a cardiac arrest, there’s no way to make them worse.
You should never endanger yourself when attempting to rescue someone else. There is rescue equipment (e.g., gloves, one-way rescue masks, etc.) and Good Samaritan laws to protect rescuers from incurring harm while attempting to save someone else’s life.
Lack of Confidence
Like the fear of making a mistake, some people hesitate to take action because they aren’t confident in their ability to save a life. They believe they aren’t qualified enough or hope someone else will help instead.
Truly effective CPR training doesn’t just teach the practical skills — it instills students with the confidence to take charge when an emergency occurs.
CPR instructors and organizational leaders can help overcome this roadblock by ensuring your CPR program allows students to practice as much as they need, encourages them to administer emergency aid, and helps them regularly review and refresh what they’ve learned — even after they’ve earned their certification.
Emotional Impact
Another reason trained individuals hesitate to offer emergency aid is that the thought of being responsible for someone else’s life is daunting. Even if the rescuer keeps a level head while dealing with the emergency, the emotional impact afterward can be significant.
That’s why people need to be told up front exactly what to expect when providing emergency aid. Make sure your organization’s CPR training includes information about what can happen during CPR, common misconceptions, and how to deal with situations where CPR doesn’t work.
Also ensure your employees have access to counseling and other supportive resources after dealing with an emergency and that they know in advance where and how to access those resources.
Viewing CPR Training as a “Checkbox” Requirement
For individuals who are required to be CPR certified, CPR and first aid training can seem like a compliance burden instead of a lifesaving skill. As a result, they may not feel motivated to pay close attention in class or put in effort to retain the skills.
The way to overcome this roadblock is through information. We need to understand that cardiac emergencies can happen anywhere, at any time, to anyone. When employees view CPR as a valuable skill they may actually need to use, they’ll be much more likely to take CPR training seriously.
Time Constraints
Balancing work schedules with mandatory training sessions can be challenging, especially for remote or dispersed teams. Employees have enough on their plates without trying to schedule in classes or coordinate with a CPR instructor’s timeline.
Online and blended learning can help eliminate this problem. Instead of having to find a time when everyone can attend the class, workers can complete the course at their own pace, whenever and wherever is most convenient for them.
However, if in-person classes work better for your organization, consider having one of your staff members become a certified instructor so they can lead CPR training in-house. Your employees won’t need to travel to a third-party location after that.
Skill Retention
Whether the CPR training is online, in-person, or a blend of the two, it’s hard to maintain proficiency without regular, hands-on practice. Practice increases muscle memory, helping make CPR skills second nature so you don’t have to think about what to do when it matters most.
But often, once training is complete, people don’t think about continuing to practice the skills they’ve learned. As a result, they may freeze up or forget critical steps during an emergency.
The solution is more practice. Choosing a blended learning model for your organization’s CPR training program makes this easier, since students can rewatch the training videos and practice on their manikins without having to be in a physical classroom.
Disconnect Between Training & Application
Knowing what to do in an emergency and actually doing it are two different things. CPR training fails to be effective when:
- It doesn’t fully prepare students to apply the knowledge and skills in real-life scenarios.
- The materials are outdated or incomplete.
- The instructor or class materials are unengaging.
To avoid this problem, choose your CPR training program carefully. Ensure the materials are up-to-date, are engaging, and fit well with your employees’ learning styles. While you can’t force them to retain the information, you can create the best possible learning environment to set up their success.
How We Can Increase Survival Rates
The low survival rate for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests is a national problem, but the solution lies in the hands of companies, organizations, schools, and people like you. Organizations have the power to train their staff and send those workers out into the community with lifesaving skills.
Here are ideas for how to get your company or organization to help increase the survival rate:
- Require CPR training for all employees. Every rescuer counts, even if CPR training isn’t required in your state or industry.
- Cover the cost of CPR training as a perk. Then make that training accessible to all employees. This is a simple way to demonstrate that your organization values CPR training.
- Create a culture of caring. Build “helping people in need” into your company’s core values, and lead by example.
- Support health and cardiac emergency awareness. Take a corporate position expressing the seriousness of cardiac emergencies and the importance of preparing for health and safety measures.
- Participate in American Heart Month. Increase employee awareness and involvement by participating in events that put heart health front and center.
- Create and practice emergency response plans. In addition to CPR and first aid training, give your employees a detailed plan for workplace emergencies. Run regular drills so they actively practice their roles and responsibilities ahead of time.
By working together to train more everyday rescuers, we can increase cardiac arrest survival rates and make our communities safer, one rescue at a time.
Overcoming the Challenges
Despite the many challenges that prevent people from offering emergency aid, change is possible. Companies, schools, and nonprofit organizations play a huge role in helping create more trained rescuers and sending them out to give more victims of cardiac arrest a better chance at survival.
Contact us today to learn more about how ProTrainings can help you make getting your staff CPR certified easier and more efficient.