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Psychological Stress and Support Needs of Volunteer First Responders After Smartphone-based Cardiac Arrest Alerts

NCT07607808 · Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 75

Last updated 2026-05-26

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is a serious emergency. In many areas, trained volunteers are alerted by a smartphone app to help before emergency services arrive. While this can save lives, these situations can also be emotionally stressful for the volunteers. This study looks at how these experiences affect volunteer first responders and how they cope with them. It also examines whether a structured follow-up conversation after an event can help reduce stress.

People who respond to a cardiac arrest alert can take part in the study. Participants will answer short questionnaires about their well-being about four weeks and ten weeks after the event. Some participants will also be offered a guided conversation to talk about their experience, while others will not.

The researchers will compare both groups to see if the conversation helps reduce stress over time. The study will also explore which factors may increase or reduce emotional burden.

Participants can stop answering the questionnaires at any time. If signs of increased stress are identified, support options are available. With consent, the study team may contact participants to offer further information and help connect them with support services.

The results of this study may help improve support for volunteer first responders in the future.

Conditions

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Structured Debriefing

The intervention consists of a structured debriefing conversation conducted by a team including physician members of the study team and trained psychosocial support (PSU) personnel. The conversation follows a semi-structured format and includes a guided reconstruction of the event, clarification of medical and situational aspects, and support in the individual processing of the experience. The aim is to facilitate understanding, reduce uncertainty, and support coping with the event.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Alexianer Center for Mental Health Care, Aachen

    collaborator UNKNOWN

  • Aachen Institute for Rescue Management and Public Safety (ARS), RWTH Aachen University

    collaborator UNKNOWN

  • University Hospital, Aachen

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
SINGLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2026-05-01
Primary Completion
2027-05-01
Completion
2027-11-01

Countries

  • Germany

Study Locations

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Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07607808 on ClinicalTrials.gov