Project Overview
Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is the ultimate time-critical emergency since the heart suddenly stops beating and unless resuscitative measures (cardiopulmonary resuscitation [CPR] and defibrillation) are initiated within minutes the person will die. When bystanders call Triple Zero (’000’) for an ambulance, if the call-taker recognises the event as an OHCA they can provide the caller with instructions about how to perform CPR and where the closest defibrillator is located in the community. Thus, the survival of OHCA patients relies heavily on effective communication during the emergency call. While recognition of OHCA by call-takers is high, there are cases where there is delay to recognition and even cases where the collapse of the person is attributed to another condition.
Aims
To investigate communicative factors associated with failure to recognise OHCA during the emergency call and to propose strategies to improve OHCA recognition.
Objectives
1. To conduct a scoping review of the literature relating to recognition of OHCA during emergency calls.
2. To undertake a linguistic analysis of ‘000’ emergency calls where OHCA was not recognised compared to calls where OHCA was promptly recognised.
3. To survey ambulance services across Australia and New Zealand to collate strategies being used to maximise recognition of OHCA during the emergency call.
4. To interview call-takers and stakeholders to ascertain their suggested strategies to improve recognition of OHCA.
Significance
Recognition of OHCA during the Triple Zero (’000’) emergency call enables prompt initiation of CPR and defibrillation for OHCA patients which has been shown to improve survival.
Internship
The successful candidate will have an opportunity to undertake an internship with our research partner, St John (Ambulance) WA.
Ideal Candidate
We are looking for an enthusiastic PhD candidate who is keen to develop as a researcher, has excellent communication skills (verbal and written) and works well within a team. The candidate must have skills in qualitative or linguistic research (or be willing to learn). Applicants must be eligible to enrol in PhD programs at Curtin.
This project is open to domestic applicants.
Enquiries
If this project interests you, contact John Curtin Distinguished Professor Judith Finn via the Expression of Interest.