Resuscitation Council breathes new life
into e-learning
The Resuscitation Council and partner
Unit 9 amazed everyone with their
LIFESAVER project. Not only a gamechanger but a life-changer, it’s no wonder
that this team were the first to pick up five
awards in one evening.
This case study explains how the
LIFESAVER project was not so much
commissioned but born in response to an
obvious need in society – how to help the
public over come bystander paralysis and
deliver effective CPR, and save lives!
Breathing new life into e-learning
The Resuscitation Council and partner Unit 9 took our breath away at this year’s awards with
their LIFESAVER project. It was the first programme to pick up five awards in one evening, all
awarded by different review panels. In a year when the standard of entries across the board
had risen dramatically, this was no mean feat. So what was it about the project that caught the
collective imaginations of this year’s judges?
An estimated 60,000 people each year in the UK have an out of hospital cardiac arrest. If a
bystander is able to start CPR they double the person’s chances of survival, but all too often, a
bystander doesn’t have the knowledge or confidence to help. As a result, the survival rate for
out of hospital cardiac arrests is only 10%. The Lifesaver programme can help change this
situation by providing participants with the confidence and knowledge to intervene in an
emergency.
From inception to execution, this learning programme stands out from the crowd and has
lessons to teach us all.
Turning an idea into reality
The initial idea occurred to Martin Percy, one of the directors of Unit 9, in conversation with the
ambulance drivers who operated from a station opposite the production company’s office. He
found out about a significant issue that could result in life or death for any one of us –
bystander paralysis! The ambulance staff told him how traditional first aid courses didn’t help
many who attend a course, who often forget what they learned after six months or a year.
Developed by Towards Maturity. See www.towardsmaturity.org/index/employer-stories/ for more case studies and resources.
Even though these courses were equipping attendees to deal with life or death situations, the
ambulance drivers were concerned as they tended to be delivered in a very relaxed way. In
real life when faced with having to respond urgently to a traumatic situation, the bystander may
know what to do because they are paralysed by fear.
Martin Percy, a three-time Webby winner and five-time BAFTA/EMMY nominee, felt that with
his background he and his organisation could do something about the bystander issue. Unit 9
is a multidisciplinary production company, normally working projects linked to commercial
advertising, entertainment and branding. Their aim is to always seeking a new approach to
promote new products and to win hearts and minds of individuals; so why not apply their
creative knowledge and expertise to a programme that has the potential of literally saving
lives? The programme idea wasn’t commissioned; it was born in response to an obvious need
in society.
To turn the idea into a reality, the programme needed to be funded and the Unit 9 team
applied for a grant from the Technology Strategy Board, the UK’s innovation agency, and
actively sought a partner who shared their goals. The Resuscitation Council (UK) was a
perfect partner – a medical charity that produces the official UK guidelines for CPR that are
followed by the NHS and all the first aid charities.
Dr Jasmeet Soar, Vice Chairman of the
Resuscitation Council (UK), comments
on the Council’s aims for Lifesaver:
‘Lifesaver provides a great opportunity to
guide the public through the simple but
vital steps of performing CPR to
encourage them to step-in if they witness
someone having a cardiac arrest and,
potentially, help save a life. The
interactive video format of Lifesaver is a
game changer for how people learn
CPR. The vivid reality of the scenarios is
compelling and will encourage more
people to learn CPR, and help save
lives.’
Dr Jasmeet Soar, Vice Chairman of the Resuscitation Council (UK), comments on the
Council’s aims for Lifesaver: ‘Lifesaver provides a great opportunity to guide the public through
the simple but vital steps of performing CPR to encourage them to step-in if they witness
someone having a cardiac arrest and, potentially, help save a life. The interactive video format
of Lifesaver is a game changer for how people learn CPR. The vivid reality of the scenarios is
compelling and will encourage more people to learn CPR, and help save lives.’
Developed by Towards Maturity. See www.towardsmaturity.org/index/employer-stories/ for more case studies and resources.
Designing for impact
Once the funding was in place, the design of the programme could begin in earnest. Given that
the aim of the programme was to address the bystander issue, a programme had to be
created that would help individuals overcome their paralysing fear. To do this it needed to be
as realistic as possible. It had to be immersive, gritty and powerful, putting participants in a
situation where they felt afraid and knew what it was like to have their adrenalin rushing
through them by being exposed to people literally dying in front of them.
The result was LIFESAVER. Lifesaver is a crisis simulator, fusing interactivity with live action
film to teach CPR in a new way. LIFESAVER is a live action movie that is played like a game.
However, by playing it, it shows participants how to save someone’s life.
LIFESAVER consists of three interactive films with 50 decision making steps interspersed with
a number of mini games where CPR is performed.
It throws participants into the heart of the action and their responses change what happens.
The video clips show real people in real places but participants learn by doing – do it wrong
and they see the consequences, do it right and they get the thrill of saving someone’s life!
Production principles
Unit 9 applied some useful
production principles to the
development of the programme. At
the heart of its success was a good
director who knew how to write
script and create a compelling
story. They also leveraged a great
design team who were able to
follow the directions from the
director and also propose new
approaches and options for tackling
the subject.
Consistency was an important principle as was the focus on creating a good user experience.
It was critical that an individual found a potentially complex scenario simple to navigate. It was
also important that they could go through the experience and never get lost. In this programme
choosing the right actors, crew members, and shooting in a range of different locations all
added to the authenticity of the experience.
Immersive experience across platforms
LIFESAVER is designed to work on a computer, smartphone or tablet. On the computer, the
participant ‘performs’ CPR by using keyboard stokes in the appropriate time and rhythm to
keep the suffering character alive.
Developed by Towards Maturity. See www.towardsmaturity.org/index/employer-stories/ for more case studies and resources.
However, the programme also makes the most of the mobile technology in the participant’s
hand – on the app version, participants move the device up and down two times a second to
do CPR on the victim in the field. Do it wrong and they die! The difference between real life is
that the process can be repeated over and over again until it is mastered. The motion sensors
in smartphones and tablets are also used to effect when teaching other procedures. When
someone is choking you can move your device sharply down to hit them on the back!
The power of Storytelling
The programme provides expert opinion and advice but also brings it alive with real life
accounts. In one video scenario a woman whose husband had a cardiac arrest provided her
story. Her husband passed away as she was unable to save his life, but her solace came from
the fact that she knew how to perform CPR and felt that she had given every possible chance
of survival. Another case study showed a couple talking together about how the wife had
saved her husband’s by applying her skills.
Keeping it Fun
The programme is also designed to be fun and provides an entertainment dimension through
serious gaming elements that makes participants want to continue and go further. If
participants get some of their choices wrong they just try again. Get enough wrong and they
get a messages saying game over and the person they were trying to save dies. At this point
they are taken back to an earlier point in the programme to try again.
These fun elements ensure that participants are motivated and scores are monitored and
reflected at the end. During CPR performance if the participant answers right the first time
three times in a row they get bonuses. Energy levels are maintained throughout by putting time
pressure on participants to react quickly and accurately.
Developed by Towards Maturity. See www.towardsmaturity.org/index/employer-stories/ for more case studies and resources.
Does it work?
Initial tests of the programme were conducted at South Bristol Community Hospital, which ran
an open day. 200 visitors with different ages and backgrounds used the programme. 40% of
the visitors had previous resuscitation training but the rest hadn’t received any formal training.
Before they started the programme confidence ratings of the visitors were 3.7 on a scale of 1 –
10. After the programme confidence levels had risen to 7.4.
All respondents replied that they were more or much more likely to attempt resuscitation in a
real life emergency after using the app.
Developed by Towards Maturity. See www.towardsmaturity.org/index/employer-stories/ for more case studies and resources.
The programme aim was to be sticky and the developers found that 1 in 8 were spending 25
minutes or more on the site and completing all three modules. 1 in 4 were spending at least 12
minutes on site and completing at least one module, and at the time of print they were
averaging 80+downloads a day.
Dr Jasmeet Soar from the Resuscitation Council (UK) concludes, ‘It has been tremendous for
the Resuscitation Council to work with UNIT9 to arrive at an Application that is so effective. We
are hopeful that others will see the benefit in promoting Lifesaver within their own
organisations and networks to encourage people to perform CPR.’
To launch the initiative, the developers contacted industry magazines and mainstream press.
Social media was also harnessed with many medical practitioners taking to twitter to sing it’s
praises. Moving forward they intend to use Google analytics to track uptake.
Try it for yourself
It is rare that one of the award winning programmes is freely available for everyone one to try –
and we’d recommend that you do as it might help you to save a life. Just log onto www.lifesaver.org.uk or download the app onto your IOS or android mobile.
This programme also has lessons to teach us on how to breathe new life into our every day
experiences of e-learning (see box out for ideas). You don’t need a massive budget to take a
fresh look at how to approach behaviour change. This programme shows that harnessing the
power of a story and then leveraging the capability of the technology to immersive users in that
story in creative ways are critical. It also shows that having a vision about the impact you can
make from the very beginning is a powerful motivator for tackling an older issue in a new way.
LIFESAVER shows us that when it comes to great learning design, we can’t afford to get
bystander paralysis – use their success to build your own skills and confidence and give it a
go!
Developed as part of the Towards Maturity Good practice partnership with elearning
age.
Article written by Laura Overton, Towards Maturity, as part of the e-learning age and Towards Maturity Good
practice partnership. Follow Laura on twitter: @lauraoverton
Developed by Towards Maturity. See www.towardsmaturity.org/index/employer-stories/ for more case studies and resources.
Tips from LIFESAVER to help you breathe new life into your e-learning
projects.
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Develop a passion for change – be inspired by the challenges of your
stakeholders
Talk to them first to understand the problem
Learn from other disciplines such as advertising to help you become a
great storyteller
Look at how the technology can be used in new ways to connect
involve your users in your story
Identify new roles that might be needed on your team – director,
creative designer, UX – and allow each to contribute
Ask meaningful questions in your pilot stage that will not only inform
design but generate feedback that help to engage others
Consider all the communication routes available to you to ensure that
everyone knows what your programme can do for them
Encourage influencers and specialists in your stakeholder community
to share their views on your programme using social media
Developed by Towards Maturity. See www.towardsmaturity.org/index/employer-stories/ for more case studies and resources.