Web-Based Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Simulator to Improve Bystander Response to Sudden Cardiac Arrest

Background: Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) ) is a major public health problem in the US claiming approximately 400,000 lives each year in the US.  Survival rates are very low in most locations, averaging ~ 8% nationally, but successful resuscitation has been demonstrated in several communities where bystander CPR rates are high.  Bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a key intervention, which has been shown to increase the odds of survival by 2-3 fold.  However, for multiple reasons including lack of recognition and low rescuer confidence, bystander CPR is provided to fewer than 30 percent of all SCA victims.  A 2011 study showed that lay rescuers can learn, retain and perform CPR after viewing a brief training video. The Save-A-Life Simulator represents a novel approach to the problem using an interactive, brief, web-based public CPR and AED training tool that is both efficient and can be widely disseminated..  The purpose of this study was to measure the viewership and uptake of this novel approach to increasing bystander response to SCA.

Program background: The HeartRescue Project, funded by Medtronic Philanthropy, was created to improve how SCA is recognized, treated and measured in the United States. SCA education and bystander training are key components of the program’s mission. The Save A Life Simulator was created to make CPR training more engaging and relevant to millions of digitally active Americans. This web-based learning experience places site visitors in a virtual scene, where they witness SCA and must decide how to respond through a series of videos in a “choose-your-own adventure” format.  A public service announcement was created to drive visitors to the site. 

Evaluation Methods and Results:   A web-based, interactive SCA scenario was released April, 2013 in both English and Spanish from the perspective of the viewer/rescuer (www.heartrescuenow.com).  The viewer is asked to choose the course of action at different intervals throughout the scenario.  Viewership and duration of views were tracked using Google analytics from release until February, 2014 (14 months). There were 6,780,849 visits to the simulator website globally, 5,571,437 of which were from the US during the study period.  The overall length of the video is 3:30 minutes; with mean time on the website per visit at 2:38 minutes, indicating that viewers completed the majority of the rescue steps.  Over 85% of visits to the simulator were first time users and only 3.6% left the website prior to completion of the simulation.

Conclusions: This web-based novel approach to public CPR and AED awareness training appear to be widely disseminated and hold promise for a new strategy to help increase lay rescuer response to sudden cardiac arrest.

Implications for research and/or practice: While thousands of individuals may witness SCA every year, it is likely that the overall effects of wide-spread brief training methods will only show improvements in bystander CPR rates over an extended period of time. Joan Mellor, Rich Fischer, Victor Ohno, Kim Harkins, Ben Bobrow, Colle+McVoy Marketing Agency, HeartRescue Project Partners