Family presence and the press effects on prehospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation: attitudes of a group of emergency caregivers

Abstract

There have been many studies regarding family presence during cardiopulmonary resuscitation and most of them are about emergency services or intensive care units. However, the issue has not been studied enough in terms of prehospital emergency medicine and the perspective of prehospital emergency caregivers. In this study, it is aimed to present the attitudes of a group of prehospital emergency care professionals to family presence and the press effects during prehospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The data for this descriptive research was collected from the participants of 63 prehospital caregivers in Afyonkarahisar. The data was collected using a questionnaire designed by the authors and the responses summarized by using frequencies and percentages. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the sample and each of the survey items. The local ethics committee approval was obtained. Most participants were strongly opposed to family presence and the press during CPR. The highest mean in the phrases that “I don’t want any press member to be there when I perform CPR on a patient.” There is no significant difference in family presence during CPR between the role and year of the experience. Prehospital emergency caregivers mostly have negative attitude towards family presence and the press during CPR. They mostly think the presence of significant others and being watched adversely affects their CPR performance. Disturbing effect on caregivers is not only related to the presence of family members or to other significant others but also the press. Family presence and the press effect on prehospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation are crucial issues that need more attention.