Relationship Between Bystanders’ Willingness to Perform Basic Life Support and Their Personality Traits: A Secondary Analysis of a Nationwide Japanese Survey

抄録

Background Survival rates improve significantly if basic life support (BLS) is administered for an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA); however, it has a low rate of implementation. Even though bystanders’ low willingness to administer BLS may be a contributing factor, the factors influencing their willingness have not been sufficiently elucidated. Therefore, this study investigated the relationship between personality traits and the willingness to administer BLS in a large cohort.

Methods In a previous study, we found an association between the willingness to perform BLS and facilitative and obstructive factors. In this study, we used the same cohort and performed a secondary analysis of the willingness to perform BLS and the big five personality traits. This observational study assessed Japanese respondents’ willingness to perform three BLS techniques (with varying levels of intervention) and the big five personality traits, using a questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using logistic regression.

Results Responses were obtained from 937 Japanese residents aged 20–65 years who had no experience performing BLS. The willingness to perform low-intervention actions—such as checking the victim’s condition and seeking assistance—was significantly and positively correlated with extraversion and agreeableness. Conversely, the willingness to perform higher-intervention actions—such as performing chest compressions and related actions—was positively correlated with openness and negatively correlated with neuroticism.

Conclusion Certain personality traits are related to the willingness to perform BLS. Hence, training methods based on personality traits may increase BLS implementation rates. For instance, creating awareness of affected individuals’ pain or joy of survival through anecdotes may be effective for individuals with low levels of agreeableness, whereas providing correct knowledge for dispelling anxiety and instilling prepared mindsets may be effective for individuals with high levels of neuroticism. Overall, the findings indicate the potential effectiveness of training methods tailored to individual personality traits.