The attitudes of Japanese high school students toward cardiopulmonary resuscitation

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: It is essential to have a clear understanding of the present condition of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training courses and the associated problems. The present study was performed to identify the current conditions of CPR training in Japanese high schools and the attitudes of students toward CPR. METHODS AND RESULTS: We distributed a questionnaire study to the students of 12 cooperating high schools regarding their willingness to perform CPR in 5 hypothetical scenarios of cardiopulmonary arrest: a stranger, a trauma patient, a child, an elderly person, and a relative. Between February and March 2006, a total of 3316 questionnaires were completed. Across all scenarios, only 27% of respondents from general high schools reported willingness to perform chest compression (CC) plus mouth-to-mouth ventilation (MMV), and 31% reported willingness to perform CC alone. Fifty-nine percent of students had previous CPR training, and only 35% were willing to perform CC plus MMV. Most of the respondents who reported that they would decline to perform full CPR, stated that poor knowledge and/or fear of incomplete performance of CPR were deciding factors. CONCLUSIONS: Japanese high school students are reluctant to perform CC plus MMV, despite having received training. The present educational system in Japan has limitations in encouraging high school students to perform CC plus MMV.