Community first response and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: Identifying priorities for data collection, analysis, and use via the nominal group technique

Aim: Community First Response (CFR) is an important component of Out-of-hospital Cardiac Arrest management in many countries, including Ireland. Reliable, strategic data collection and analysis are required to support the development of CFR. However, data on CFR are currently limited in Ireland and internationally. This research aimed to identify the most important CFR data to record, the most important uses of CFR data, and barriers and facilitators to CFR data collection and use. Methods: The Nominal Group Technique structured consensus process was used. An expert panel comprising key stakeholders, including volunteers, clinicians, researchers, policy-makers, and a patient, completed a survey to generate lists of the most important CFR data to record and the most important uses of CFR data. Subsequently, they participated in a consensus meeting to agree the top ten priorities from each list. They also identified barriers and facilitators to CFR data collection and use. Results: The top ten CFR data items to record included volunteer response time, interventions/activities completed by volunteers, and the mental/physical impact on volunteers. The top ten most important uses of CFR data included providing feedback to volunteers, improving volunteer training, and measuring CFR effectiveness. Barriers included time constraints and limited training. Facilitators included having appropriate software/equipment and collecting minimal data. Conclusion: The results can guide CFR research and inform the development of CFR data collection and analysis policy and practice in Ireland and internationally. Ultimately, improving CFR data collection and use will help to optimise this important intervention and enhance its evidence base.