Need U 4 CPR 2nite: Study of texting seeks participants
BY TRACIE WHITE
"Want to be a hero?"
That's the hook researchers are using on their fliers to reel in participants for a study to test the public's "willingness to respond" to nearby medical emergencies.
"Are we willing to help our neighbors? That's the question we're asking," said David Boudreault, MD, a general surgery resident and one of two biodesign fellows recruiting 100 local residents for a short-term study to decide whether it's reasonable to go ahead with a plan to design a nationwide database of community volunteers coordinated to respond to nearby emergencies even before emergency vehicles arrive at the scene.
"If a heart attack victim is fortunate enough to have someone who knows CPR nearby, their chances of survival triple," Boudreault said. "Why leave it to chance? Why not take advantage of the people who really want to help?"
The average time it takes to die after a heart attack is six minutes while the average emergency vehicle responds to a 911 call in seven to eight minutes. Often CPR-trained civilians are around the corner or next door, but they don't know about the emergency in time to help.
Biodesign fellows hope to establish a program enabling people to sign up for an emergency response system similar to how the public now signs up for organ donation. An online database of volunteers throughout communities would be made available to 911 dispatchers, who could then send a text message requesting that a volunteer respond to an emergency.
Whether the project moves ahead depends on results from the study measuring the public's willingness to respond, Boudreault said. Anyone participating in the study must be willing to receive text messages anytime over a two-week period asking whether they will respond to a nearby emergency. "If this isn't going to work in Palo Alto, it's not going to work anywhere," he said.
The study also involves Jason Davies, MD/PhD student and biodesign fellow, and Gregory Gilbert, MD, professor of emergency medicine. For more information, contact Boudreault at 723-2388 or boudreault@stanford.edu, or Davies at jmdavies@stanford.edu.
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