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Cardiac arrest

Dispatcher training + volunteer app: more CPR, no outcome gain

A multifaceted intervention to increase bystander CPR rates after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in France: a stepped-wedge, cluster-randomised, controlled trial
The Lancet. Public Health · 2026-11 · Added 22 October 2026

A stepped-wedge cluster-randomised trial in French EMS agencies found dispatcher training in arrest recognition, telephone CPR and a geolocated volunteer responder app was associated with more bystander CPR (61.4% to 70.9%, adjusted OR 1.54), an effect that lost significance after adjusting for secular trends; clinical outcomes did not improve.

Study type

RCT

Design

Stepped-wedge cluster-randomised controlled trial

Participants

1,684 adults with non-traumatic OHCA from the 12 originally randomised French EMS agencies (intention-to-treat)

Main finding

Bystander CPR before EMS arrival rose from 61.4% to 70.9% (adjusted OR 1.54, 95% CI 1.09–2.19), but not significantly after adjusting for secular trends; clinical outcomes did not improve

Caveat

The effect was no longer significant after adjustment for cluster-specific secular trends or baseline characteristics, and it did not translate into better clinical outcomes

Bottom line

Hypothesis-generating

Learning goal

Understand how dispatcher training and volunteer responder systems influence bystander CPR and survival outcomes in cardiac arrest care.

More

• Topic: Cardiac arrest
• Daily scan: 22 October 2026
• Podcast: Paramedic Papers Daily, 22 October 2026

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