Date of Award

2018

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

MS in Physician Assistant Studies (PA)

Department

Physician Assistant Studies

First Advisor

Holly Levine

Abstract

Circulatory shock and cardiovascular diseases contribute to significant mortality globally, with an increased burden in developing countries. The compilation of these studies and anecdotal support gathered while in Nicaragua supports the impact education on high-quality CPR among the community can have on out-of- hospital cardiac arrest patient outcomes. Even though some studies showed guideline-compliant CPR does not improve all patient outcomes, we cannot estimate the time it will take a patient to achieve ROSC. Therefore, educating the public and refining the skills of health care professionals can have a significant positive impact on out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patient outcomes if there is definitive treatment available. This is where most of the difficulty arose in Nicaragua, because definitive treatment, like an AED, are present but scarce, and the use of surgical intervention was not even addressed for patients in cardiac arrest. Training programs have been initiated with positive patient outcomes in some areas of Nicaragua, which is in part due to the availability of resources, like an AED, at hospitals in the community. For CPR education to continue to have a positive impact on patient outcomes, training needs to be mandated for health care professionals, a standardized course needs to be taught with ongoing assessment of skills, and adequate definitive care (AED, surgery) needs to be readily available.

Identifier

SC11.PAS.2018.Gross.A

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