Video-Assisted First Aid by Young Children for Unconsciousness
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Completed
- Sponsor
- University of Pecs
- Enrollment
- 110
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Correctness of treatment of an unconscious patient (based on a checklist).
Study Overview
Brief Summary
Sudden cardiac arrest is a major public health issue, and EMS dispatchers play a key role in improving outcomes through telephone-assisted CPR (T-CPR). With current technology, video-assisted CPR (V-CPR) via smartphones allows for visual feedback and more precise guidance. While V-CPR has shown promise, studies have mostly focused on adult CPR performance in controlled settings. Research involving children and non-CPR first aid scenarios is scarce. Our study addresses this gap by evaluating video-assisted guidance during a simulated unconsciousness situation performed by children, exploring its feasibility and broader applicability.
Detailed Description
Sudden cardiac arrest is a major public health concern and remains one of the leading causes of death in industrialized countries. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) dispatchers play a crucial role in recognizing cardiac arrest and guiding lay responders through telephone-assisted CPR (T-CPR), which has been shown to improve survival outcomes. With current technologies, real-time video communication via a bystander's smartphone has become feasible, enabling video-assisted CPR (V-CPR), which allows dispatchers to provide visual feedback and more tailored guidance.
Although several studies have investigated the effectiveness of V-CPR-mainly in terms of chest compression quality and time to first compression-these have primarily focused on adult participants and controlled settings. Research involving children as lay responders is limited, and video-assisted first aid has been scarcely evaluated in pediatric populations. Moreover, existing studies concentrate predominantly on CPR, while other essential first aid scenarios, such as the management of unconscious victims, remain underexplored.
To address these gaps, our study examined the effectiveness of video-assisted guidance during a simulated unconsciousness scenario performed by children, aiming to assess both the feasibility and potential benefits of extending video-assisted firs aid approaches beyond cardiac arrest.
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Non Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Parallel
- Primary Purpose
- Other
- Masking
- Triple (Participant, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Masking Description
The dispatcher, assessors, actor, and children were informed about their specific tasks according to their group allocation but were blinded to the study design and intended outcomes.
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 6 Years to 8 Years (Child)
- Sex
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria
- •healthy children aged 6 to 8 years (first grade of primary school)
Exclusion Criteria
- •children with known physical, cognitive, or communication impairments that could interfere with participation in simulated first aid tasks
- •technical issue during data collection
Arms & Interventions
Training and video-assistance
Received a 45-minute theoretical and practical training session on assessing unconsciousness and managing an unresponsive victim, based on ILCOR first aid guidelines, followed by a 15-minute technical session on how to initiate and operate video assistance via a smartphone. Both sessions were conducted by a paramedic experienced in pediatric first aid education and emergency dispatching.
Intervention: First Aid Training Combined With Video-Assisted Guidance (Behavioral)
Video-assistance only
Received a 15-minute technical session exclusively focused on operating the video assistance technology (without first aid instruction). This session was conducted by the same paramedic as in Group 1.
Intervention: Video-Assisted Guidance Without Prior Training (Behavioral)
No assistance
Received no preparatory training (control group).
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Correctness of treatment of an unconscious patient (based on a checklist).
Time Frame: During post-analysis of the video-records (within 1 week after data collection)
Number of correct first aid steps performed and task completion success (based on the checklist containing all the relevant steps of the treatment).
Secondary Outcomes
- Time(During procedure.)