Chain of Call: Learning How to Effectively Communicate with Emergency Medical Services at School

<b>Background/Objectives</b>: More than half of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur at home and are witnessed by family members, who must promptly call the Emergency Medical Services (EMS). The aim of this study was to assess the learning outcomes of an interactive school-based training activity focused specifically on the EMS call. <b>Methods</b>: A single-group, post-test-only simulation study was conducted in five Spanish schools. Participating schoolchildren received basic life support (BLS) training from their Physical Education teachers, integrated into the regular school schedule and following the Kids Save Lives recommendations. An innovative didactic resource (the "BLS Endless Book") was used to support active learning. Children's performance was evaluated in a simulated scenario using a standardized checklist. <b>Results</b>: A total of 1341 children aged 6 to 14 years participated. In the simulated scenario, more than 90% of participants were able to recognize the emergency and correctly identified and dialed the national emergency number. However, less than 50% were able to activate the hands-free function (with younger children experiencing more difficulty). During the call, 99.0% stated their full name, and 82.0% provided their complete address. <b>Conclusions</b>: A short, focused BLS training led at school by physical education teachers and based on an interactive, easy-to-use, didactic tool is effective in educating 6-14-year-old schoolchildren to correctly perform an immediate EMS call in case of cardiac arrest. Nevertheless, schoolchildren may require reinforcement training focused on hands-free operation and on providing the correct address.

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Publication Details

Journal
Children
Published
2025-11-05
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/children12111501
Primary Topic
Cardiac Arrest and Resuscitation
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Chain of Call: Learning How to Effectively Communicate with Emergency Medical Services at School

Cristina Varela-Casal, María Pichel-López, Carlos Berlanga‐Macías, María Carmen Agra Tuñas et al.
Children
Cardiac Arrest and Resuscitation
article

Chain of Call: Learning How to Effectively Communicate with Emergency Medical Services at School

Cristina Varela-Casal, María Pichel-López, Carlos Berlanga‐Macías, María Carmen Agra Tuñas, Santiago Martínez‐Isasi, Cristina Jorge-Soto, Antonio Rodrı́guez-Núñez, María Fernández‐Méndez, Adriana Seijas-Vijande, María García‐Martínez
article en

Abstract

<b>Background/Objectives</b>: More than half of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur at home and are witnessed by family members, who must promptly call the Emergency Medical Services (EMS). The aim of this study was to assess the learning outcomes of an interactive school-based training activity focused specifically on the EMS call. <b>Methods</b>: A single-group, post-test-only simulation study was conducted in five Spanish schools. Participating schoolchildren received basic life support (BLS) training from their Physical Education teachers, integrated into the regular school schedule and following the Kids Save Lives recommendations. An innovative didactic resource (the "BLS Endless Book") was used to support active learning. Children's performance was evaluated in a simulated scenario using a standardized checklist. <b>Results</b>: A total of 1341 children aged 6 to 14 years participated. In the simulated scenario, more than 90% of participants were able to recognize the emergency and correctly identified and dialed the national emergency number. However, less than 50% were able to activate the hands-free function (with younger children experiencing more difficulty). During the call, 99.0% stated their full name, and 82.0% provided their complete address. <b>Conclusions</b>: A short, focused BLS training led at school by physical education teachers and based on an interactive, easy-to-use, didactic tool is effective in educating 6-14-year-old schoolchildren to correctly perform an immediate EMS call in case of cardiac arrest. Nevertheless, schoolchildren may require reinforcement training focused on hands-free operation and on providing the correct address.

ChildrenVol. 12(11)
Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (ES), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ES), Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago (ES), Complexo Hospitalario Universitario A Coruña (ES), Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de A Coruña (ES), Universidade de Vigo (ES), University of Castilla-La Mancha (ES)
Openalex Percentile: Top 52%
Cardiac Arrest and Resuscitation
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