Wellbeing, emotional response and stress among lay responders dispatched to suspected out-of-hospital cardiac arrests

Background: Systems for smartphone dispatch of lay responders to perform cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and bring automated external defibrillators to out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs) are advocated by recent international guidelines and emerging worldwide.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the emotional responses, posttraumatic stress reactions and levels of wellbeing among smartphone-alerted lay responders dispatched to suspected OHCAs.

Methods: Lay responders were stratified by level of exposure: unexposed (Exp-0), tried to reach (Exp-1), and reached the suspected OHCA (Exp-2). Participants rated their emotional responses online, at 90 minutes and at 4-6 weeks after an incident. Level of emotional response was measured in two dimensions of core affect: "alertness" - from deactivation to activation, and "pleasantness" - from unpleasant to pleasant. At 4-6 weeks, WHO wellbeing index and level of posttraumatic stress (PTSD) were also rated.

Results: Altogether, 915 (28%) unexposed and 1471 (64%) exposed responders completed the survey. Alertness was elevated in the exposed groups: Exp-0: 6.7 vs. Exp-1: 7.3 and Exp-2: 7.5, (p < 0.001) and pleasantness was highest in the unexposed group: 6.5, vs. Exp-1: 6.3, and Exp-2: 6.1, (p < 0.001). Mean scores for PTSD at follow-up was below clinical cut-off, Exp-0: 9.9, Exp-1: 8.9 and Exp-2: 8.8 (p = 0.065). Wellbeing index showed no differences, Exp-0: 78.0, Exp-1: 78.5 and Exp-2: 79.9 (p = 0.596).

Conclusion: Smartphone dispatched lay responders rated the experience as high-energy and mainly positive. No harm to the lay responders was seen. The exposed groups had low posttraumatic stress scores and high-level general wellbeing at follow-up.