Social attitude and willingness to attend cardiopulmonary resuscitation training and perform resuscitation in the Crimea.

BACKGROUND: To promote potentially life-saving bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), the proportion of CPR-trained general public and their attitude toward CPR should be assessed, which is yet to be done in the former Soviet Union countries. As a case study, the survey is aimed to investigate the prevalence of CPR training, CPR knowledge, attitude and willingness to attend training and attempt CPR in the general population of the Crimea.

METHODS: A personal interview survey was done from November 2017 to January 2018 with quota sampling reflecting age, gender and territorial distribution of the Crimean population.

RESULTS: Out of 384 persons surveyed, 53% were trained in CPR. Of trained, 24% passed training within the last year, 44% attended a single course. Among the non-trained, 51% never thought about the need to attend training. Knowledge of CPR is generally poor. About 52% wish to learn CPR, 79% and 91% are willing to attempt CPR on a stranger or a loved one, respectively. Lack of knowledge is the strongest barrier to attempt CPR. People aged ≥60, those with educational level lower than high school, widowed and retired are mostly untrained and unwilling to learn CPR. Females and unemployed are mostly untrained, but willing to be educated.

CONCLUSION: There is a need for increasing CPR training and retraining, and improving awareness and motivation to learn CPR in the Crimean population, targeting the least trained groups. The results could be used as a reference point for future studies in the former USSR countries, utilising the same methodology.