A reference basic life support provider course for Europe

SummaryBackgroundGood scientific evidence is scarce in relation to the effectiveness of different methods of teaching basic life support (BLS) to the general public. In order to test new courses or methods a reference course is needed as a comparative standard.ObjectiveTo propose a reference BLS provider course that can be used as a comparator when testing new courses or teaching methods.MethodsAll national resuscitation councils that are represented in the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) were sent a questionnaire about the BLS provider courses run by them or under their auspices.ResultsSixteen national resuscitation councils responded to the enquiry. Their responses regarding organisation, structure, content and methods of the courses were found to be remarkably consistent between European countries. Few issues had a high variance.ConclusionsBased on the responses received, a reference BLS provider course for lay persons is suggested as a tool for research. The course duration is 3 h 15 min (excluding breaks), with 2 h 15 min practice time for the participants, 30 min for theory and 20 min for practical demonstrations by the instructor. A manual is distributed at the start of the course. The ratio of instructors to participants is one to six. The lectures are interactive between the instructor and the participants. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is practised on manikins in groups of six. A formal BLS scenario test may be held at the end of the course as part of a research study or if the candidates so request. It is suggested that by using this reference course during research into lay person BLS teaching, it will be easier to make comparisons between different studies.