CPR Training Kiosks Can Increase Bystander Involvement

A new study reveals that hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training kiosks have the potential to increase public participation in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) events.

Researchers at the University of Colorado (Anschutz; Aurora, USA) and the American Heart Association (AHA; Dallas, TX, USA) conducted a randomized study that compared participant scores on hands-only CPR outcome measures after education with a 25-45 minute practice-while-watching classroom session, a four minute kiosk on-screen feedback and practice session, and a one minute video viewing. Study participants took a 30-second test--which included compression rate, depth, and correct hand placement--after the initial training, and again after three months.


The results revealed that after the initial education session, the video-only group had a lower total score on the short test than the classroom group, but there were no significant differences on total test score between classroom and kiosk participants. Additional outcome scores help to explain which components negatively affect total score for each education method, with the video-only group demonstrating lower compression depth scores than the classroom group, and the kiosk group outperforming the classroom group on hand position score, but scoring lower on compression depth score. The study was published on November 12, 2018, in Annals of Emergency Medicine.

“Participants exposed to the kiosk session and those exposed to classroom education performed hands-only CPR similarly, and both groups showed skill performance superior to that of participants watching only a video,” said lead author Debra Heard, PhD, of the AHA. “For a person with little or no medical training, hands-only CPR training kiosks can teach life-saving skills in just minutes. These kiosks have the potential to lower barriers to training, increase the likelihood a bystander would perform CPR, and positively impact the likelihood of survival from cardiac arrest outside of a hospital.”

In 2013, the AHA installed the first kiosk in Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Visitors could learn and practice hands-only CPR via a touch-screen video and hands-on practice. Without advertising, the kiosks attracted more than 23,000 visitors in nearly three years. Similar kiosks are now available in 16 airports and 14 other public areas with more than 100,000 people completing the training.

Related Links:
University of Colorado
American Heart Association