The WATCH study v.1.0

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  The WATCH study: Witnessing an Attempt of CPR in Hospital. A qualitative study on the impact and support of hospital patients witnessing resuscitation on other patients.

• IRAS ID

  218744

• Contact name

  Martina Fiori

• Contact email

  martina.fiori@plymouth.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  Univeristy of Plymouth

• Duration of Study in the UK

  0 years, 11 months, 31 days

• Research summary

  Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a lifesaving procedure that is done when someone’s breathing or heartbeat has stopped. The National Cardiac Arrest Audit in 2014 reported that 22,628 adult patients in acute hospitals received CPR. This implicates that a high number of hospital patients might witness a CPR attempt on other patients, contributing to the stressors that hospitalised patients may encounter. At present, research about the impact of patients who witness CPR on other patients is limited.
  This research aims to investigate the impact of patients witnessing a CPR attempt on another patient and to identify the best support that can be delivered to patients by healthcare professionals. Specific objectives are to:
  • Explore the experiences of hospital patients witnessing CPR on another patient;
  • Identify the experiences of healthcare professionals involved in CPR and their support provided to patients.
  The study will use a qualitative methodology based on a phenomenological approach conducting individual interviews with patients and individual or focus groups interviews with healthcare professionals.
  Patients will be invited for an interview within one week after they witnessed CPR on another patient to explore the initial impact of the experience and a second interview will be planned four to six weeks after the event to explore the sustained impact and long-term consequences.
  Healthcare professionals will be invited to participate in individual or focus groups interviews. Only healthcare professionals who have had experiences of CPR in the last six months will be invited.
  The stories of patients and healthcare professionals will be analysed to derive the main themes characterizing the experience. It is hoped that the findings of this study will influence the development and implementation of practice guidelines to support patients after witnessing CPR and provide excellent care.

• REC name

  South West - Cornwall & Plymouth Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  18/SW/0069

• Date of REC Opinion

  2 May 2018

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion