Abstract

Introduction. Teachers are one of the most suitable groups for learning basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation (B-CPR), although the training available to them during their college education is scant. Objective. To analyze the short- and long-term effectiveness of a short CPR training session in future physical education teachers. Material and methods. A quasi-experimental study was conducted without a control group in which college students taking the degree in sport sciences and physical education participated at four different times: 1. Evaluation of B-CPR quality before the training; 2. B-CPR training session; 3. Assessment of B-CPR quality after training; and 4. Evaluation of learning retention after six months of detraining. The training consisted of a 45-minute theoretical and practical session with instructors and training manikins. Results. 24 college students (41.6 % women) participated. After the training session there were significant improvements in: overall compression quality (53.4 vs. 66.9 %, p = .006); average depth reached (43.4 vs. 48.5 mm, p < .001); the percentage of compressions with adequate depth (25.7 vs. 53.3 %, p = .024); compressions with adequate rhythm (34.6 vs. 64.2 %, p = .039) and correct hand position (61.9 vs. 88.9 %, p = .001). After six months, only hand position diminished significantly (88.9 vs. 83.1 %, p = .001). Ventilation quality, which was low throughout the study, did not change (20.0 vs. 28.1 vs. 25.0 %; p = .194). Conclusions. After a short training session, future high school teachers are able to significantly improve their effectiveness in compressions during B-CPR. However, further training is needed to increase ventilation quality, with this improvement constituting an important step in the implementation of this type of training in college education.