Basic life support knowledge of secondary school students in cardiopulmonary resuscitation training using a song

OBJECTIVES: To examine the effectiveness of a “cardiopulmonary resuscitation song” in improving the basic life support skills of secondary school students. METHODS: This pre-test/post-test control design study enrolled secondary school students from two middle schools randomly chosen in Córdoba, Andalucia, Spain. The study included 608 teenagers. A random sample of 87 students in the intervention group and 35 in the control group, aged 12-14 years were selected. The intervention included a cardiopulmonary resuscitation song and video. A questionnaire was conducted at three-time points: pre-intervention, one month and eight months post-intervention. RESULTS: On global knowledge of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, there were no significant differences between the intervention group and the control group in the trial pre-intervention and at the month post-intervention. However, at 8 months there were significant differences with a p-value = 0.000 (intervention group, 95% CI: 6.39 to 7.13 vs. control group, 95% CI: 4.75 to 5.92), (F ((1,120))=16.644, p= 0.000). In addition, significant differences about students’ basic life support knowledge about chest compressions at eight months post-intervention (F((1,120))=15.561, p=0.000) were found. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that incorporating the song component in the cardiopulmonary resuscitation teaching increased its effectiveness and the ability to remember the cardiopulmonary resuscitation algorithm. Our study highlights the need for different methods in the cardiopulmonary resuscitation teaching to facilitate knowledge retention and increase the number of positive outcomes after sudden cardiac arrest.