Mastery Learning Versus Time-based Education: Skill Acquisition and Retention of Basic Life Support in Laypeople

Background:

In cardiac arrest survival rates dramatically increase when bystanders are present and initiate Basic Life Support (BLS). However, even though serious efforts have been made, skill retention after a traditional time-based BLS course for laypeople remains suboptimal. In contrast, a mastery learning-based educational approach was shown to be efficacious and might be promising even for laypersons. Therefore the investigators aim to evaluate the impact of a mastery learning-based BLS course on skills retention of BLS in laypeople.

Methods:

Forty laypeople without previous BLS experiences will be randomized into the traditional time-based BLS course group (Control - TB group) or mastery learning-based group (Intervention - ML group).

Both groups will receive BLS training consisting of 6 successive stations including diagnosis of cardiac arrest, chest compression, ventilation, one-rescuer BLS, two-rescuer BLS and AED use. In the ML group, subjects will deliberately practice and receive feedback at each station until a pre-set target level is reached. Subjects will be allowed to proceed to the next station only when they achieve the required target level of performance. In contrast, participants of the TB group will be taught the same 6 stations in two hours, according to standard American Heart Association BLS criteria. All subjects will have an assessment of knowledge and skills immediately after teaching (immediate post-test) and at four months (retention post-test).

Implications:

Previous research has shown that mastery learning-based education improves learners' procedural skill performance. The investigators study will determine the impact of a mastery learning-based BLS course on skill retention in laypeople.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Cardiac Arrest; Basic Life Support
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Time based learning; Other: Mastery based learning

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 49
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Canada
  • Ontario
    • Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1Y 4E9
      • The University of Ottawa Skills and Simulation Centre

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• University students in Ottawa

Exclusion Criteria:

• Students of the Faculty of Medicine
• Previous Basic Life Support Training Certificate

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Time based; Participants follow the traditional Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation Heartsaver Course	Other: Time based learning; Participants follow the traditional Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation Heartsaver Course according to the official course layout
Experimental: Mastery based; Participants do follow the content of the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation Heartsaver Course content based on their own pace (timeframe)	Other: Mastery based learning; Participants are allowed to follow the course content at their own speed

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Skill Retention Estimated From the Change of AHA Heartsaver Total Score From Immediate Post-test to Retention Test	The official AHA Heartsave adult CPR AED Skill Sheet checklist for single-rescuer BLS was used to capture participants' skills for single-rescuer BLS and defibrillation with an AED. The AHA Heartsaver checklist has 11 action items, participant receives 1 point when an action on the checklist is performed. Therefore, the total score range from 0-11, with higher values represent a better outcome. Immediate post-test and retention test skill performance were evaluated by 2 independent raters. Skill retention was estimated by calculating the change in score from immediate post-test to retention test.	Baseline and 4 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Sylvain Boet, MD, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: November 1, 2013
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 1, 2014
• Study Completion (Actual): September 24, 2015

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 7, 2014
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 10, 2014
• First Posted (Estimate): February 11, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 30, 2018
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 5, 2017
• Last Verified: March 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Heart Diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases; Heart Arrest
• Other Study ID Numbers: Mastery of BLS