TY - JOUR
T1 - The nationwide impact of COVID-19 on life support courses. A retrospective evaluation by Resuscitation Council UK
AU - Thorne, C. J.
AU - Kimani, P. K.
AU - Hampshire, S.
AU - Hamilton-Bower, I.
AU - Begum-Ali, S.
AU - Benson-Clarke, A.
AU - Couper, K.
AU - Yeung, J.
AU - Lockey, A.
AU - Perkins, G. D.
AU - Soar, J.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors wish to thank members of Resuscitation Council UK who co-ordinate the ILS and ALS courses and the course directors and instructors who deliver life support courses nationwide. Funding was through a small in-house grant from Resuscitation Council UK for the statistical analysis undertaken by Dr PK Kimani from the University of Warwick.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s)
PY - 2023/3
Y1 - 2023/3
N2 - Aim: To determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Resuscitation Council UK Advanced Life Support (ALS) and Immediate Life Support (ILS) course numbers and outcomes. Methods: We conducted a before-after study using course data from the Resuscitation Council UK Learning Management System between January 2018 and December 2021, using 23 March 2020 as the cut-off between pre- and post-pandemic periods. Demographics and outcomes were analysed using chi-squared tests and regression models. Results: There were 90,265 ALS participants (51,464 pre-; 38,801 post-) and 368,140 ILS participants (225,628 pre-; 142,512 post-). There was a sharp decline in participants on ALS/ILS courses due to COVID-19. ALS participant numbers rebounded to exceed pre-pandemic levels, whereas ILS numbers recovered to a lesser degree with increased uptake of e-learning versions. Mean ALS course participants reduced from 20.0 to 14.8 post-pandemic (P < 0.001). Post-pandemic there were small but statistically significant decreases in ALS Cardiac Arrest Simulation Test pass rates (from 82.1 % to 80.1 % (OR = 0.90, 95 % CI = 0.86–0.94, P < 0.001)), ALS MCQ score (from 86.6 % to 86.0 % (mean difference = -0.35, 95 % CI −0.44 to −0.26, P < 0.001)), and overall ALS course results (from 95.2 %to 94.7 %, OR = 0.92, CI = 0.85–0.99, P = 0.023). ILS course outcomes were similar post-pandemic (from 99.4 % to 99.4 %, P = 0.037). Conclusion: COVID-19 caused a sharp decline in the number of participants on ALS/ILS courses and an accelerated uptake of e-learning versions, with the average ALS course size reducing significantly. The small reduction in performance on ALS courses requires further research to clarify the contributing factors.
AB - Aim: To determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Resuscitation Council UK Advanced Life Support (ALS) and Immediate Life Support (ILS) course numbers and outcomes. Methods: We conducted a before-after study using course data from the Resuscitation Council UK Learning Management System between January 2018 and December 2021, using 23 March 2020 as the cut-off between pre- and post-pandemic periods. Demographics and outcomes were analysed using chi-squared tests and regression models. Results: There were 90,265 ALS participants (51,464 pre-; 38,801 post-) and 368,140 ILS participants (225,628 pre-; 142,512 post-). There was a sharp decline in participants on ALS/ILS courses due to COVID-19. ALS participant numbers rebounded to exceed pre-pandemic levels, whereas ILS numbers recovered to a lesser degree with increased uptake of e-learning versions. Mean ALS course participants reduced from 20.0 to 14.8 post-pandemic (P < 0.001). Post-pandemic there were small but statistically significant decreases in ALS Cardiac Arrest Simulation Test pass rates (from 82.1 % to 80.1 % (OR = 0.90, 95 % CI = 0.86–0.94, P < 0.001)), ALS MCQ score (from 86.6 % to 86.0 % (mean difference = -0.35, 95 % CI −0.44 to −0.26, P < 0.001)), and overall ALS course results (from 95.2 %to 94.7 %, OR = 0.92, CI = 0.85–0.99, P = 0.023). ILS course outcomes were similar post-pandemic (from 99.4 % to 99.4 %, P = 0.037). Conclusion: COVID-19 caused a sharp decline in the number of participants on ALS/ILS courses and an accelerated uptake of e-learning versions, with the average ALS course size reducing significantly. The small reduction in performance on ALS courses requires further research to clarify the contributing factors.
KW - Advanced life support
KW - Assessment
KW - Covid-19
KW - E-learning
KW - Education
KW - Immediate life support
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85148351009&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.resplu.2023.100366
DO - 10.1016/j.resplu.2023.100366
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85148351009
SN - 2666-5204
VL - 13
JO - Resuscitation Plus
JF - Resuscitation Plus
M1 - 100366
ER -