Spotlight on Research

For decades there has been debate concerning the presence of lay people during resuscitation attempts. Predominantly the focus of the research has been in-hospital although in recent years we have seen a growing body of evidence pertaining to out-of-hospital settings (Walker, 2014).

Frequently this phenomenon is referred to in the literature as ‘witnessed resuscitation’ (WR) or ‘family presence during resuscitation’ (FPDR). The authors of this paper identify that although there is nothing new about this topic, there remain inconsistencies with regard to perceived benefits, barriers and enablers to this practice.

The aim of the review was to examine evidence on WR in the emergency department (ED). Although the literature search looked for evidence from 1992 through to 2012, only papers from 2000 onwards were incorporated in the review itself. The paper clearly identifies the included databases and the primary search terms such as ‘family presence’, ‘resuscitation’, ‘arrest’, ‘witnessed’, ‘barriers’, ‘benefits’, ‘advantages and disadvantages’ etc.