PURPOSE This study was performed to determine the perception and attitude of emergency medical staff by the presence of family members while performing Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). METHODS Data were collected from June and August in 2010 using questionnaire. The participants were 187 doctors and nurses who were working at emergency medical centers located at eight hospitals. RESULTS Approximately half of the medical emergency staff had previous experience of having requests from a patient's family members to remain present at the time of performing CPR. Most of the subjects did not know that the 2005 American Heart Association (AHA) guideline recommended including willing family members' during CPR. Doctors were more likely than nurses to recognize that the positive effects of family members being present during CPR. CONCLUSION This study indicates that health professionals are not aware of the AHA guidelines for including family members during CPR of a patient and further that more doctors than nurses recognized the value of including willing family members during CPR.
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