Effect of population-based training programs on bystander willingness to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Objective. This study was performed to determine the factors related to unwilling-ness of bystanders to perform cardiopul-monary resuscitation (CPR), and improve-ment of willingness among the lay public after CPR training.Design. Retrospective designMethods. We collected questionnaires received from laypersons attending CPR training courses implemented by the CPR Improvement Program of Chang Gung Memorial Foundation. Pre- and post-training questionnaires were given to par-ticipants attending CPR training courses between September 2013 and January 2014.Results. Among the 401 respondents at pre-training, higher educational level (odds ratio, 3.605; 95% confidence in-terval [CI], 3.055 – 8.284) and previous CPR training (odds ratio, 1.754; 95% CI, 1.049 – 2.932) were significantly associ-ated with willingness to perform bystander CPR. Significant improvements in will-ingness to perform conventional CPR and hands-only CPR on a stranger were observed after training (P = 0.016 and P < 0.0001, respectively). Approximately half of the respondents claimed that fear of doing further harm was the primary rea-son for their lack of willingness to admin-ister conventional CPR on a stranger.Conclusions. We showed that CPR train-ing significantly increased the rate of will-ingness to perform CPR on strangers as well as acquaintances among the lay pub-lic. This study also showed that fear of do-ing further harm was the most significant barrier after training. This concern should be addressed in future training programs.