Effect of cardiopulmonary resuscitation training for parents of high-risk neonates on perceived anxiety, control, and burden.

STUDY

OBJECTIVES

(1) To compare the effects of 3 methods of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training for parents of infants at risk for cardiac or respiratory arrest on anxiety, perception of control, and sense of burden; and (2) to identify parents' attitudes about CPR training and willingness to perform CPR if needed.

METHODS

A longitudinal, controlled trial was conducted with parents and other caretakers of high-risk infants. Subjects were recruited from 5 level III neonatal intensive care units. We enrolled each of 578 subjects in 1 of 4 groups: (1) CPR-Video; (2) CPR-Didactic; (3) CPR-Social Support; or (4) control (no CPR training). Of these, 335 completed the entire study. Data were collected at baseline, and 2 weeks and 6 months after CPR training. The main outcomes measured were perceived anxiety, control, and burden related to caring for a high-risk infant and attitudes about responding to an emergency.

RESULTS

Subjects reported moderately high anxiety, sense of burden, and feelings of loss of control before CPR training. Within groups, subjects in all 3 treatment groups reported improvement in perceptions of anxiety, control, and burden 2 weeks after CPR training, with continued improvement evident 6 months after CPR training (P =.001). In contrast, perceptions were unchanged in the control group. Among groups, at 2 weeks there were significant differences in means between control and CPR-Didactic groups (P =.01), and at 6 months there were significant differences in means between control and CPR-Didactic groups (P =.01) and between control and CPR-Social Support groups (P =.01).

CONCLUSION

CPR training is an important intervention for promoting a sense of control and reducing the anxiety and sense of burden experienced by parents of neonates at risk for cardiopulmonary arrest.