Effect of Virtual Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Training on the Self-efficacy of Family Caregivers of Patients With Cardiovascular Diseases: A Randomized Controlled Field Trial

Cardiopulmonary arrest occurs at any time and place. Most of cardiac arrests happen in places outside the hospital without access to experienced people. If the family members have the ability of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, they can prevent brain death in the golden time. This study aims to assess the effect of virtual cardiopulmonary resuscitation training on the self-efficacy of family caregivers of patients with cardiovascular diseases. 

This is a randomized controlled field trial that was conducted on 60 family caregivers of patients with cardiovascular diseases referred to the heart clinic of Razi Hospital in Birjand, Iran in 2021. They were selected by a random sampling method and were randomly divided into two groups of training (n=30) and control(n=30). They completed a demographic form and the Basic Resuscitation Skills Self-Efficacy Scale. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS software, version 20 using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, paired t-test, and chi-square test. The significance level was set at 0.05.

The mean posttest score of self-efficacy in the training and control groups were 4.15±0.49 and 3.12±0.58, respectively, which was significantly different (P<0.001). There was no significant difference in the pretest score of self-efficacy between the training (2.97±0.82) and control (3.09±0.64) groups (P=0.53).

Virtual cardiopulmonary resuscitation training has a significant effect on increasing the self-efficacy of family caregivers of patients with cardiovascular diseases. Virtual education can be effective due to lower costs and higher efficiency. Therefore, it is recommended for planners to use this method of education in their policies for cardiovascular diseases.