Attitudes to CPR and public access defibrillation: a survey of the UK public

Purpose of the study: To determine the proportion of UK adults who have witnessed an out-of-hospital-cardiac-arrest (OHCA), been trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), compression only CPR (COCPR) or Public Access Defibrillator (PAD) use. To investigate the influence of training and demographic characteristics on likelihood of acting in the event of witnessing an OHCA.Materials and methods: Literature and collaborators’ expertise informed question development for an online omnibus survey, run by a market research and data company (YouGov). In April 2017, a representative sample of 2084 UK adults responded to the survey.Results: 19% reported witnessing one or more OHCAs; 58% reported having ever received CPR training and 22% defibrillator training, reducing to 37% and 15% respectively within the last 5 years. Of those ever trained, 53% reported receiving training at work and 15% whilst a pupil at school. If witnessing an OHCA, most people (93%) were likely to phone Emergency Medical Services (EMS); 58% to perform CPR, 56% to perform COCPR, 42% to retrieve a PAD and 35% to use a PAD. 43% knew where to find the nearest PAD to their home. If trained in PADuse, 74% said they would retrieve one compared to 33% of those untrained and 74% of those trained compared to 24% not trained would likely use one. For those trained in CPR, 76% were likely to perform CPR compared to 28% who were untrained.Conclusions: In England in 2014, PAD use in public places for non-EMS witnessed OHCAs was only 4.1% [1]. With only 42% of the UK population likely to retrieve a defibrillator, 15% trained in defibrillator use and 37% in CPR within the last 5 years, the potential to increase survival rates through continuing attempts to improve public awareness and resuscitation skills remains high, especially as almost 1 in 5 people have witnessed an OHCA.