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8/9/2019 CPR Mobile Phone Apps Save Lives by Reducing Fear of Failure
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CPR APP REVIEW 1
CPR Mobile Phone Apps Save Lives by Reducing Fear of Failure
It is impossible to do under pressure what you have not practiced and
mentally visualized a thousand times relaxed. Unpracticed CPR skills can
dissipate within weeks, even for healthcare professionals. Without additional
opportunity to review and reinforce CPR skills, an intensive four-hour basic
CPR certification course is of diminishing value over time. CPR Training
applications for the BlackBerry and iPhone opens a new, easy-to-use, avenue
to refresh and review skills proven to save lives.
According to the American Heart Association, there are more 300,000 deaths
a year from Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) alone. These numbers are not just
elderly folks with known heart disease. Sudden Cardiac Arrest strikes
without warning. Each year, SCA is responsible for deaths of many who
appear otherwise healthy, including young promising athletes, dancers,
runners, and others who literally drop dead. Equipping the public with
skillsand competency to perform basic life-sustaining CPR could double or
triple the number of cardiac event survivors.
Seconds count when someone has stopped breathing. With every second on
the line, could you confidently leap to action, if a friend or loved one stopped
breathing? There is no time to hesitate if you are first on the scene. It is the
difference between life and death, and potentially the difference between a
return to full function or permanent brain damage.
Less than seven minutes without oxygen to the brain can spell permanent
brain-damage or diminished functional capacity. Even the speediest
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) rarely arrives on scene within those
decisive seven minutes. Survival rates fall 7% to 10% for each minute
without CPR. Yet, studies suggest only 15% to 30% ofcardiac arrest victims
receive bystander CPR before EMS personnel arriveat the scene.i Why?
What could explain such relatively few attempts to resuscitate? Whensomeone is already not breathing, what is there to lose? Why arent more
bystanders attempting CPR?
Various theories attempt to explain why bystanders hesitate to initiate CPR
or even AED (automated external defibrillation). Researchers hypothesized
bystanders failed toperform CPR for fear of incurring legal liability; however,
the passage in most states of "Good Samaritan" legislation limiting liability
8/9/2019 CPR Mobile Phone Apps Save Lives by Reducing Fear of Failure
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for rescuers has all but eliminated that concern. Researchers also theorized
bystander reluctance stemmed from fear of exposure to infectious disease
performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Recent surveys of people actually
on the scene witnessing a cardiac event debunked that theory.
Studies found one obstacle to the initiation of CPR is the complexity offollowing CPR guidelines, but even that is not the number one reason so few
bystanders step up to perform CPR. Astoundingly, in surveys of actual
bystanders to cardiac arrest, the most often-cited reason for declining to
initiate CPR is fear of failure. This lack of confidence or fear of incorrectly
performing CPR cost precious moments that could mean the difference
between life and death. CPR Training readily available as a phone app,
translates into an effortless opportunity to frequently review life-saving skills,
so when an emergency arises, bystanders can jump in more confidently
during those key moments awaiting professional medical services. In short,
CPR Training for the iPhone and BlackBerry can save lives by helping to
reduce or eliminate the fear of failure.
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i(Abella, Aufderheide and Eigel)