Abstract
Objective: To determine if cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) policy and practice in Western Australian (WA) hospitals changed since the release of an operational directive from the WA Department of Health. Design: Cross sectional postal survey conducted in 2008 compared to the results of the 2001 survey. Setting: Western Australian public hospitals containing ten or more beds. Subjects: 66 WA hospitals in 2001; 59 WA hospitals in 2008. Main outcome measures: Characteristics of defibrillators; CPR and defibrillation training and assessment; who was permitted to undertake defibrillation; type of cardiac arrest management team, whether data was routinely collected on cardiac arrests and outcomes and any other issues related to resuscitation policy and practice. Results: There was a 15% increase in the number of hospitals with AEDs (15% difference; 95% CI 10%, 29%; p= 0.04) and an increase in proportion of hospitals that allowed nurses to defibrillate from 74% to 98% (24% difference; 95% CI 14%, 34%; p
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 14-20 |
Journal | Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing |
Volume | 27 |
Issue number | 1 |
Publication status | Published - 2009 |