AIIMS advised establishing a detailed policy structure at the national and state levels to embed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training into school curricula. This proposal surfaced from the initial brainstorming consultation held at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Tuesday, intending to advance a nationwide school CPR program.
A three-year research project in 15 government schools across Delhi validated the meeting's recommendations, involving 4,500 pupils from grades 6 to 12. Conducted by AIIMS and financially backed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the study showed that every participating student and teacher was eager to learn CPR and displayed marked enhancements in their knowledge and abilities, as demonstrated by pre- and post-training assessments.
The investigation, under the leadership of Dr. Sanjeev Bhoi, a professor in the emergency medicine division at AIIMS, discovered that students starting from the 6th grade effectively understood the theoretical knowledge of CPR. Conversely, 11th and 12th-grade pupils performed better in practical skills, attributed to their superior muscle strength. Therefore, the learning sessions were tailored to consider the student's body mass index to achieve optimal educational outcomes, as mentioned in a report by TOI.
At the session, AIIMS and the WHO Collaborating Centre for Emergency and Trauma Care (WHO CCET) suggested embedding the CPR program into the physical education curriculum and recommended its inclusion in the examination system. This integration would ensure students not only acquire essential skills but are also evaluated on their competency.
Heart attacks and cardiac arrests are frequent occurrences, and experts argue that equipping individuals with CPR skills is an effective solution to address this issue. Schools offer a structured setting to impart these crucial life-saving skills efficiently. By focusing on educational institutions as primary training sites, a significant portion of the population can be prepared to handle cardiac emergencies.
In India, cardiac arrests and heart attacks result in the death of two individuals every minute, leading to an annual loss of approximately 4.5 million lives. However, timely administration of CPR could potentially reduce deaths by 50% to 75%.