Introduction:
Community First Response (CFR) is an important intervention for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in many countries. CFR entails the mobilization of volunteers by the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to respond to OHCAs in their vicinity. These volunteers include lay-people and professionals (e.g. physicians, fire-fighters). CFR can increase rates of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or defibrillation performed prior to EMS arrival. However, its impact on additional outcomes (e.g. survival, cognitive function) requires further study. This research aimed to identify the most important CFR data to collect and analyze, as well as the most important uses of CFR data.
Methods:
This study used the Nominal Group Technique: a structured consensus process where key stakeholders develop a set of prioritized recommendations. There were 16 participants, including CFR volunteers, an OHCA survivor, researchers, clinicians, EMS personnel, and policy-makers. They completed an online survey to generate lists of the most important (1) CFR data to collect and analyze and (2) uses of CFR data. They then attended a virtual meeting where they discussed the survey results in groups before voting for their top ten priorities from each list. They also identified barriers to CFR data collection.
Results:
The top ten CFR data to collect and analyze included volunteer response time, interventions performed by volunteers, time of emergency, time of CPR initiation, individuals who performed CPR, and the mental and physical effects of being a volunteer. The top ten uses of CFR data included providing feedback to volunteers, increasing bystander participation in resuscitation, improving volunteer training, measuring CFR effectiveness, and encouraging inter-operability with the EMS. Barriers to data collection included time constraints, prioritization of patient care, and limited training.
Conclusions:
This study established priorities for the collection, analysis, and use of CFR data in consultation with key stakeholders. These findings have important implications for both CFR research and practice. In particular, they can be used to improve the efficiency, consistency, and utility of CFR data collection and to build evidence for this intervention.
Using Nominal Group Technique to Elucidate a COVID-19 Research Agenda for Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Populations
