An Analysis of Certified Athletic Trainers’ Ability to Provide High-Quality Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) over Hockey Shoulder Pads

Abstract

Certified Athletic Trainers (ATCs) are expected to perform CPR for athletes regardless of whether the athlete is wearing protective equipment. The goal of this research was to determine /if ATCs were able to/ deliver high-quality CPR over hockey shoulder pads. Fifty ATCs completed CPR according to 2015 AHA guidelines on a medium-fidelity manikin, which had been fitted with hockey shoulder pads. CPR quality was measured with the Resusci Anne Wireless SkillReporter. CPR data included the following dimensions of compressions: overall score, mean rate, chest compression fraction, mean depth, % chest recoil, and % compressions with appropriate depth. Data were analyzed to compare differences of CPR performance between covariates. Overall score separated by gender was significant with men outperforming women. 56% of ATCs did not compress at the recommended depth. Therefore, the removal of hockey shoulder pads is recommended to ensure high-quality CPR performance as administered by ATCs.