What should be included in the assessment of laypersons' paediatric basic life support skills? Results from a Delphi consensus study

TY - JOUR

T1 - What should be included in the assessment of laypersons' paediatric basic life support skills?

T2 - Results from a Delphi consensus study

AU - Hasselager, Asbjørn Børch

AU - Lauritsen, Torsten

AU - Kristensen, Tim

AU - Bohnstedt, Cathrine

AU - Sønderskov, Claus

AU - Østergaard, Doris

AU - Tolsgaard, Martin Grønnebæk

PY - 2018/1/18

Y1 - 2018/1/18

N2 - Background: Assessment of laypersons' Paediatric Basic Life Support (PBLS) skills is important to ensure acquisition of effective PBLS competencies. However limited evidence exists on which PBLS skills are essential for laypersons. The same challenges exist with respect to the assessment of foreign body airway obstruction management (FBAOM) skills. We aimed to establish international consensus on how to assess laypersons' PBLS and FBAOM skills. Methods: A Delphi consensus survey was conducted. Out of a total of 84 invited experts, 28 agreed to participate. During the first Delphi round experts suggested items to assess laypersons' PBLS and FBAOM skills. In the second round, the suggested items received comments from and were rated by 26 experts (93%) on a 5-point scale (1=not relevant to 5=essential). Revised items were anonymously presented in a third round for comments and 23 (82%) experts completed a re-rating. Items with a score above 3 by more than 80% of the experts in the third round were included in an assessment instrument. Results: In the first round, 19 and 15 items were identified to assess PBLS and FBAOM skills, respectively. The ratings and comments from the last two rounds resulted in nine and eight essential assessment items for PBLS and FBAOM skills, respectively. The PBLS items included: "Responsiveness"," Call for help", "Open airway"," Check breathing", "Rescue breaths", "Compressions", "Ventilations", "Time factor" and "Use of AED". The FBAOM items included: "Identify different stages of foreign body airway obstruction", "Identify consciousness", "Call for help", "Back blows", "Chest thrusts/abdominal thrusts according to age", "Identify loss of consciousness and change to CPR", "Assessment of breathing" and "Ventilation". Discussion: For assessment of laypersons some PBLS and FBAOM skills described in guidelines are more important than others. Four out of nine of PBLS skills focus on airway and breathing skills, supporting the major importance of these skills for laypersons' resuscitation attempts. Conclusions: International consensus on how to assess laypersons' paediatric basic life support and foreign body airway obstruction management skills was established. The assessment of these skills may help to determine when laypersons have acquired competencies.

AB - Background: Assessment of laypersons' Paediatric Basic Life Support (PBLS) skills is important to ensure acquisition of effective PBLS competencies. However limited evidence exists on which PBLS skills are essential for laypersons. The same challenges exist with respect to the assessment of foreign body airway obstruction management (FBAOM) skills. We aimed to establish international consensus on how to assess laypersons' PBLS and FBAOM skills. Methods: A Delphi consensus survey was conducted. Out of a total of 84 invited experts, 28 agreed to participate. During the first Delphi round experts suggested items to assess laypersons' PBLS and FBAOM skills. In the second round, the suggested items received comments from and were rated by 26 experts (93%) on a 5-point scale (1=not relevant to 5=essential). Revised items were anonymously presented in a third round for comments and 23 (82%) experts completed a re-rating. Items with a score above 3 by more than 80% of the experts in the third round were included in an assessment instrument. Results: In the first round, 19 and 15 items were identified to assess PBLS and FBAOM skills, respectively. The ratings and comments from the last two rounds resulted in nine and eight essential assessment items for PBLS and FBAOM skills, respectively. The PBLS items included: "Responsiveness"," Call for help", "Open airway"," Check breathing", "Rescue breaths", "Compressions", "Ventilations", "Time factor" and "Use of AED". The FBAOM items included: "Identify different stages of foreign body airway obstruction", "Identify consciousness", "Call for help", "Back blows", "Chest thrusts/abdominal thrusts according to age", "Identify loss of consciousness and change to CPR", "Assessment of breathing" and "Ventilation". Discussion: For assessment of laypersons some PBLS and FBAOM skills described in guidelines are more important than others. Four out of nine of PBLS skills focus on airway and breathing skills, supporting the major importance of these skills for laypersons' resuscitation attempts. Conclusions: International consensus on how to assess laypersons' paediatric basic life support and foreign body airway obstruction management skills was established. The assessment of these skills may help to determine when laypersons have acquired competencies.

KW - Child

KW - Consensus

KW - Delphi Technique

KW - Emergencies

KW - Female

KW - Humans

KW - Male

KW - Professional Competence

KW - Resuscitation/education

KW - Surveys and Questionnaires

U2 - 10.1186/s13049-018-0474-5

DO - 10.1186/s13049-018-0474-5

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 29347956

SN - 1757-7241

VL - 26

JO - Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine

JF - Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine

M1 - 9

ER -