Open Access Emergency Medicine (Oct 2018)

Differences in implementation strategies of the European Resuscitation Council Guidelines 2015 in Danish hospitals – a nationwide study

  • Stærk M,
  • Lauridsen KG,
  • Mygind-Klausen T,
  • Løfgren B

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 10
pp. 123 – 128

Abstract

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Mathilde Stærk,1–3 Kasper G Lauridsen,1–3 Troels Mygind-Klausen,1–3 Bo Løfgren2–5 1Clinical Research Unit, Randers Regional Hospital, Randers, Denmark; 2Research Center for Emergency Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark; 3Department of Internal Medicine, Randers Regional Hospital, Randers, Denmark; 4Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; 5Department of Cardiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark Introduction: Guideline implementation is essential to improve survival following cardiac arrest. This study aimed to investigate awareness, expected time frame, and strategy for implementation of the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) Guidelines 2015 in Danish hospitals.Methods: All public, somatic hospitals with a cardiac arrest team in Denmark were included. A questionnaire was sent to hospital resuscitation committees one week after guideline publication. The questionnaire included questions on awareness of ERC Guidelines 2015 and time frame and strategy for implementation.Results: In total, 41 hospitals replied (response rate: 87%) between October 22 and December 22, 2015. Overall, 37% hospital resuscitation committees (n=15) were unaware of the guideline content. Most hospitals (80%, n=33) expected completion of guideline implementation within 6 months and 93% hospitals (n=38) expected the staff to act according to the ERC Guidelines 2015 within 6 months. In contrast, 78% hospitals (n=32) expected it would take between 6 months to 3 years for all staff to have completed a resuscitation course based on ERC Guidelines 2015. Overall, 29% hospitals (n=12) planned to have a strategy for implementation later than a month after guideline publication and 10% (n=4) hospitals did not plan to make a strategy.Conclusion: There are major differences in guideline implementation strategies among Danish hospitals. Many hospital resuscitation committees were unaware of guideline content. Most hospitals expected hospital staff to follow ERC Guidelines 2015 within six months after the publication even though they did not offer information or skill training to all staff members within that time frame. Keywords: resuscitation, guidelines, implementation

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