TY - JOUR
T1 - Defining the terminology of first responders alerted for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest by medical dispatch centres
T2 - An international consensus study on nomenclature
AU - Metelmann, Camilla
AU - Metelmann, Bibiana
AU - Müller, Michael P.
AU - Scquizzato, Tommaso
AU - Baldi, Enrico
AU - Barry, Tomas
AU - Böttiger, Bernd W.
AU - Busch, Hans-J. rg
AU - Caputo, Maria Luce
AU - Cheskes, Sheldon
AU - Cresta, Ruggero
AU - Deakin, Charles D.
AU - Degraeuwe, Eva
AU - Doshi, Ankur A.
AU - Ekkel, Mette M.
AU - Elschenbroich, Daniel
AU - Fredman, David
AU - Gamberini, Lorenzo
AU - Ganter, Julian
AU - Henriksen, Finn L.
AU - Jagtenberg, Caroline
AU - Jonsson, Martin
AU - Khalemsky, Michael
AU - Kooy, Tom A.
AU - Lott, Carsten
AU - Marks, Tore
AU - Monsieurs, Koen G.
AU - Moens, Esther
AU - Ng, Wei Ming
AU - Pooth, Jan-Steffen
AU - Prasse, Stefan
AU - Salcido, David D.
AU - Scapigliati, Andrea
AU - Schittko, Nadja
AU - Schnaubelt, Sebastian
AU - Scholz, Sean S.
AU - Shahriari, Persia
AU - Snobelen, Paul
AU - Stieglis, Remy
AU - Strickmann, Bernd
AU - Tan, Hanno L.
AU - Thies, Karl C.
AU - Vercammen, Steven
AU - Wetsch, Wolfgang A.
AU - Greif, Robert
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 The Author(s)
PY - 2025/3/1
Y1 - 2025/3/1
N2 - Aim: Emergency medical services target to reduce time to cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation by alerting additional individuals to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Multiple terms are used to describe these individuals, potentially causing confusion and hindering comparisons. This international consensus study aimed to establish standardised terminology. Methods: Forty-six interdisciplinary researchers from four continents participated in a symposium on “Community First Responders” with the objective of standardising relevant terminology. Initially, terms were proposed anonymously for individuals alerted during work hours and those alerted during leisure time. Each term was rated on a 5-point Likert scale. Terms receiving a high level of agreement were included in the final voting process. Results: Seven terms were suggested for individuals alerted during work hours. In the first voting “first responder”, “professional first responder”, and “on-duty first responder” achieved high agreement. Ultimately, consensus was reached on the term “on-duty first responder”. For individuals alerted during leisure time, ten terms were proposed. Among these, “first responder”, “citizen first responder”, “community emergency responder”, “community first responder”, “volunteer first responder”, “volunteer responder”, and “volunteer community first responder” reached high agreement. In the final vote “community first responder” was selected. The consensus group agreed that the overarching term “first responder” should be used to describe all community-based individuals, who are alerted, regardless of whether they are on duty or off duty. Conclusion: This consensus study recommends using the terms “on-duty first responder” and “community first responder” to describe individuals additionally alerted by medical dispatch centres to facilitate early intervention in OHCA.
AB - Aim: Emergency medical services target to reduce time to cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation by alerting additional individuals to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Multiple terms are used to describe these individuals, potentially causing confusion and hindering comparisons. This international consensus study aimed to establish standardised terminology. Methods: Forty-six interdisciplinary researchers from four continents participated in a symposium on “Community First Responders” with the objective of standardising relevant terminology. Initially, terms were proposed anonymously for individuals alerted during work hours and those alerted during leisure time. Each term was rated on a 5-point Likert scale. Terms receiving a high level of agreement were included in the final voting process. Results: Seven terms were suggested for individuals alerted during work hours. In the first voting “first responder”, “professional first responder”, and “on-duty first responder” achieved high agreement. Ultimately, consensus was reached on the term “on-duty first responder”. For individuals alerted during leisure time, ten terms were proposed. Among these, “first responder”, “citizen first responder”, “community emergency responder”, “community first responder”, “volunteer first responder”, “volunteer responder”, and “volunteer community first responder” reached high agreement. In the final vote “community first responder” was selected. The consensus group agreed that the overarching term “first responder” should be used to describe all community-based individuals, who are alerted, regardless of whether they are on duty or off duty. Conclusion: This consensus study recommends using the terms “on-duty first responder” and “community first responder” to describe individuals additionally alerted by medical dispatch centres to facilitate early intervention in OHCA.
KW - Community first responder
KW - OHCA
KW - On-duty First Responder
KW - Systems Saving Lives
KW - Volunteer First Responder
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85219513797
U2 - 10.1016/j.resplu.2025.100912
DO - 10.1016/j.resplu.2025.100912
M3 - Article
C2 - 40123987
SN - 2666-5204
VL - 22
JO - Resuscitation plus
JF - Resuscitation plus
M1 - 100912
ER -