Teaching Infant Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation to Caregivers in the Emergency Department

Objectives Infant cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) has been taught to caregivers of infants in inpatient settings. There are no studies to date that look at teaching infant CPR in the emergency department (ED). Using a framework of cognitive load theory, we compared teaching infant CPR to caregivers in a pediatric ED versus an inpatient setting. Methods Knowledge tests, 1-minute infant CPR performances on a Resusci Baby QCPR (Laerdal) manikin, and self-reported questionnaires were completed before and after caregivers were self-taught infant CPR using Infant CPR Anytime kits. The proportions of chest compression depth and rate that met quality standards from the American Heart Association's Basic Life Support program were measured. Results Seventy-four caregivers participated. Mean knowledge scores (out of a total score of 15) increased in both settings (ED preintervention: Mean (M) = 4.53 [SD = 1.97]; ED postintervention: M = 10.47 [SD = 2.90], P < 0.001; inpatient preintervention: M = 4.83 (SD = 2.08); inpatient postintervention: M = 10.61 [SD = 2.79], P < 0.001). Improvement in the proportion of chest compression that met high quality standards for depth increased in the inpatient group only. Neither groups had improvements in compression rates. There were no statistically significant differences in the difficulty of learning CPR, frequency of interruptions/distractions, or difficulty staying concentrated in learning CPR between the 2 settings. Conclusions Caregivers in the ED and inpatient settings after a self-instructional infant CPR kit did not demonstrate adequate infant CPR performance. However, both groups gained infant CPR knowledge. Differences in cognitive loads between the 2 settings were not significant.