Regional approaches to improve survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest
RACE-CARS CCC 1/2
This project uses community, EMS, and hospital changes across counties to help people who have out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survive with good brain function.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Duke University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Durham, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11162279 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If I or someone in my community has a cardiac arrest outside the hospital, this project aims to make it more likely we get prompt bystander CPR, early defibrillation, and coordinated EMS and hospital care. The team is running a cluster-randomized program across 50 counties in North Carolina where some counties receive a customized set of community and systems interventions and others continue usual care. Researchers will track outcomes like survival to hospital discharge with good neurologic function for everyone who experiences an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in those counties. The goal is to find practical community-level changes that can be spread to help more people survive with their brains intact.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People who experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest while located in one of the participating North Carolina counties during the study period would be included and could benefit.
Not a fit: People outside the participating counties, those who have cardiac arrest in the hospital, or individuals with irreversible preexisting severe brain injury may not receive benefit from these community-focused interventions.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could raise survival rates and improve neurologic recovery for people who suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
How similar studies have performed: Observational regional efforts (including an 11-county North Carolina experience) showed large improvements in bystander CPR, defibrillation, and survival, but large randomized trials of system-wide interventions are rare and this work builds on those promising findings.
Where this research is happening
Durham, United States
- Duke University — Durham, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Granger, Christopher B. — Duke University
- Study coordinator: Granger, Christopher B.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.