title: Willingness to administer mouth-to-mouth ventilation in a first response program in rural Bangladesh.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Timely mouth-to-mouth ventilation is critical to resuscitate drowning victims. While drowning is frequent, there are no lay persons trained in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in rural Bangladesh. As part of a feasibility study to create a first response system in a conservative Islamic village environment, a pilot was undertaken to examine willingness to provide mouth-to-mouth ventilation for drowning resuscitation.
  
  
  METHODS
  A questionnaire was administered to 721 participants at the beginning of a village-based CPR training course. Trainees were asked regarding willingness to administer mouth-to-mouth ventilation on a variety of hypothetical victims. Responses were tabulated according to the age, sex and relationship of the trainee to the postulated victim.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Willingness to deliver mouth-to-mouth ventilation was influenced by sex of a potential recipient and relationship to the trainee. Adolescent participants were significantly more willing to perform mouth-to-mouth ventilation on someone of the same sex. Willingness increased for both sexes when the postulated victim was an immediate family member. Willingness was lower with extended family members and lowest with strangers. Adult trainees were more likely to perform mouth-to-mouth ventilation than adolescent trainees in any scenario.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Adults express more willingness to resuscitate a broader range of drowning victims than adolescents. However in rural Bangladesh, adolescents are more likely to be in close proximity to a drowning in progress. Further efforts are needed to increase willingness of adolescents to provide resuscitation to drowning victims. However, despite potential cultural limitations, trained responders appear to be willing to give mouth-to-mouth ventilation to various recipients. Final determination will require evidence on response outcomes which is being collected.
authors.affiliation: International Drowning Research Centre - Bangladesh (IDRC-B) of CIPRB, House - B 162, Road - 23, New DOHS, Mohakhali, Dhaka, 1206, Bangladesh. thomasmecrow@yahoo.co.uk.
authors.forename: Tom Stefan
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Mecrow
authors.affiliation: International Drowning Research Centre - Bangladesh (IDRC-B) of CIPRB, House - B 162, Road - 23, New DOHS, Mohakhali, Dhaka, 1206, Bangladesh. aminur@ciprb.org.
authors.forename: Aminur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.affiliation: Centre for Injury Prevention Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB), Dhaka, Bangladesh. mashreky@ciprb.org.
authors.forename: Saidur Rahman
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Mashreky
authors.affiliation: Centre for Injury Prevention Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB), Dhaka, Bangladesh. fazlur@ciprb.org.
authors.forename: Fazlur
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.affiliation: International Drowning Research Centre - Bangladesh (IDRC-B) of CIPRB, House - B 162, Road - 23, New DOHS, Mohakhali, Dhaka, 1206, Bangladesh. nusrat_160@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Nahida
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nusrat
authors.affiliation: Royal Life Saving Society Australia (RLSSA), Sydney, Australia. jscarr@rlssa.org.au.
authors.forename: Justin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Scarr
authors.affiliation: The Alliance for Safe Children (TASC), Atlanta, USA. mlinnan@tasc-gcipf.org.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Linnan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001459:Bangladesh; D016887:Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009055:Mouth; D011639:Public Opinion; D012424:Rural Population; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult