Clinical Research Directory

Effectiveness of a Communication Training Program in Improving the Handling of Calls for Suspected Cardiac Arrest at SAMU-Centre 15.

Sponsor: University Hospital, Grenoble

Summary

Each year, France's emergency response services-the SAMU (15) and the fire department (18)-handle 31 million and 19 million calls, respectively. The effectiveness of this system depends on the call centers' ability to obtain location information, prioritize responses, assess the severity of each call, and dispatch appropriate emergency resources. Cardiac arrest (CA) affects 40,000 people in France each year who call on this service. The survival rate decreases by 7 to 10% for every minute that elapses between cardiac arrest and the start of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Early CPR performed by bystanders is associated with a survival rate 2-3 times higher than CPR initiated only after emergency responders arrive on the scene. CPR assisted by SAMU-Centre 15 dispatchers (T-CPR) is a way to provide CPR to patients before emergency responders arrive on the scene and is recommended as early as possible to improve survival. According to the American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines, the timing of the initiation of the chain of survival is considered high quality if T-CPR is initiated within 90 seconds. Studies show that recognizing a cardiac arrest (CA) over the phone is often difficult for several reasons, including communication challenges, the caller's stress, and the presence of abnormal breathing. Emergency medical dispatchers (EMDs) receive very little training on communication strategies, particularly those needed to optimally manage stressed and sometimes difficult callers. Interventions to improve communication have proven effective among healthcare professionals. These methods included face-to-face training, blended learning programs, simulation-based teamwork exercises, and communication techniques adapted from aviation. Standardized scripting systems have been shown to improve the speed of decision-making and the dispatch of emergency response teams. These scripts depend on the quality of the information provided by the caller and the caller's ability to communicate effectively with the EMD. The objective of this study will be to evaluate the effect of a communication training program for Centre-15 emergency medical dispatchers on calls for cardiac arrest.

Official title: Effectiveness of a Communication Training Program in Improving the Handling of Calls for Suspected Cardiac Arrest at SAMU-Centre 15. A Multicenter, Randomized Controlled Stepped-Wedge Implementation Trial

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