Cardiopulmonary resuscitation – a promising school topic? A pre-post-evaluation of emotions, psychological attitudes and knowledge

Wegner C, Dumcke R, Bender R, Kucknat L, Rahe-Meyer N. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation – a promising school topic? A pre-post-evaluation of emotions, psychological attitudes and knowledge. Journal of Innovation in Psychology, Education and Didactics. 2019;23(1):49-76.Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) education is suggested to be part of the official school curricula in Europe to increase bystander resuscitation and survival rates after cardiac arrest. Many postgraduate teachers are reluctant to teach CPR to their students. This study aims to evaluate if prospective biology teachers are able to plan and conduct CPR lessons successfully. 88 German students in 9th grade high school classes participated in a CPR workshop consisting of practice and conversational phases. A pre-post questionnaire was used to assess CPR related mental overload, self-efficacy, prosocial attitudes, and knowledge. The emotional state was tested separately after participating. Results indicate that positive emotional states were predominant afterwards and that competency perception and knowledge increased significantly, whereas mental overload decreased. A CPR lesson conducted by non-professional, CPR trained prospective biology teachers has a positive impact on high school students’ attitudes and knowledge, indicating the concept’s practicability