Increasing Law Enforcement Application of Automated External Defibrillators (AED)s for Cardiac Arrest

June 9, 2026 updated by: Amanda Missel, Wayne State University

Increasing Law Enforcement Application of Automated External Defibrillators for Cardiac Arrest

The goal of this study is to learn if an automated external defibrillator (AED) training adjunct video can improve law enforcement self-efficacy, the likelihood of AED application overall, and decrease disparities in women.

Participants will be asked to:

  • complete a brief initial survey
  • view an AED training adjunct video
  • complete another survey following the video

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The investigators will conduct a pilot study to examine the efficacy of an education intervention, based on new 2025 American Heart Association guidelines, to improve the likelihood of AED application. The intervention and surveys will be delivered asynchronously online. The investigators will use a short pre-intervention survey to gather information about participants' likelihood and self-efficacy to apply an AED overall and specifically to women. The investigators will also gather basic demographic information including gender, Basic Life Support certification status, and experience responding to cardiac arrests. Participants will then watch a short video, followed by a post-intervention survey to examine changes in likelihood and self-efficacy to apply an AED. All three components will be delivered within the same Qualtrics survey (i.e., pre-survey, video, post-survey).

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

30

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Michigan
      • Detroit, Michigan, United States, 48202
        • Wayne State University
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Amanda L. Missel, PhD, MS, RN

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Law enforcement officers from agencies in the greater Portland area served by the Portland Cardiac Arrest Epidemiologic Registry
  • aged 18 years of age and older

Exclusion Criteria:

  • none

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: AED training adjunct
Receive AED training intervention
Behavioral: AED training adjunct
Participants will complete a brief survey, then watch an AED training adjunct video, followed by a repeat survey. All components are delivered asynchronously online. The investigators will prospectively evaluate using an existing observational registry used for quality improvement and research, the Portland Cardiac Arrest Epidemiologic Registry (PDX Epistry).
No Intervention: Control
Counties that do not receive the additional training will serve as control counties. The investigators will prospectively evaluate using an existing observational registry used for quality improvement and research, the Portland Cardiac Arrest Epidemiologic Registry (PDX Epistry).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Confidence to Attach Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Pads on a Woman
Time Frame: Immediately following the AED training intervention
The primary training outcome is, "I am confident I can always attach AED pads in the correct position on a woman". This question is a modified question from a validated tool to measure changes in self-efficacy, the Basic Resuscitation Skills Self-Efficacy Scale, which measures "can do" using 0-100.
Immediately following the AED training intervention
Change in AED Application
Time Frame: Prospectively over 18 months following AED training intervention
Our primary care outcome is, change in AED application by law enforcement among adult cases with law enforcement on-scene before Emergency Medical Services (EMS) arrival overall and stratified by gender relative to the same geographic region in the preceding 5-year period. The outcome will be measured using the Portland Cardiac Arrest Epidemiologic Registry (PDX Epistry), an existing observational registry used for quality improvement and research.
Prospectively over 18 months following AED training intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in AED Application by AED Training
Time Frame: Prospectively over 18 months following AED training intervention.
Change in AED application by law enforcement among adult cases with law enforcement on-scene before Emergency Medical Services (EMS) arrival overall and stratified by gender for counties that received the AED training adjunct versus control counties. The outcome will be measured using the PDX Epistry, an existing observational registry used for quality improvement and research.
Prospectively over 18 months following AED training intervention.

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Modified Basic Resuscitation Skills Self-Efficacy Scale
Time Frame: Immediately following AED training intervention

Measures "can do" using 0-100 for key skills. The investigators revised the scale based on the scope of study.

In an emergency situation, I am confident I can always… (rate each on a scale of 0-100, with 100 being the most confident):

  1. Assess the victim's level of consciousness within 5 seconds
  2. Assess for breathing and differentiate between effective and agonal respirations in no more than 10 seconds
  3. Perform CPR according to current guidelines
  4. Provide effective chest compressions (correct hand placement, depth, recoil and speed)
  5. Switch on the AED and start using it as soon as it is available without delay
  6. Follow AED prompts in the right order

7a. Attach AED pads in the correct positions on a man

8. Ensure nobody touches the victim while the rhythm is being analyzed

9. Deliver a rapid and safe shock to the victim keeping visual check and giving verbal commands

10. Resume, without hesitation, appropriate post-shock actions according to current guidelines
Immediately following AED training intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Wayne State University

Collaborators

Oregon Health and Science University
American Heart Association

Investigators

  • Study Chair: Robert Ploutz-Snyder, PhD, PStat(r), Wayne State University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

July 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 3, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 9, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

June 16, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 16, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 9, 2026

Last Verified

June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 26-0365
  • 26RIRA1636534 (Other Grant/Funding Number: American Heart Association)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

All newly generated factual data that is needed for independent verification of research results will be made freely and publicly available in the AHA-approved repository, Zendo following the FAIR data sharing paradigm. This includes anonymized demographic information, self-efficacy data, and AED training. The investigators will not deposit open-ended survey responses due to an inability to anonymize or aggregate the data.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

03/31/2028

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

freely available

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • SAP
  • ANALYTIC_CODE

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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