When it comes to multitasking, most people do simple acts well, like walking and chewing gum. But combine demanding tasks—say, driving and talking on a cell phone—and 97.5 percent of us perform poorly.
Jason M. Watson and David L. Strayer, both Ph.D.s at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, tested 200 undergrads (average age nearly 27 years; 90 males) while each performed a simulated driving scenario in conjunction with memory and math problems that imitated the same level of attention needed to talk on a cell phone. The results: Just five were “supertaskers”—meaning they were able to perform the driving, recall and math tasks just as well when they were doing the tasks concurrently or separately. The other 195 were less than stellar multitaskers; they had slower braking times, were unable to keep up with the flow of traffic, and fell short in recall and math.
“It’s a bit of a paradox,” Watson told Research Monitor, referring to the fact that EMS responders must also talk on two-way radios (a task similar to talking on a cell phone) while working to save lives. Given the necessity of simultaneous driving and radio talk, Watson strongly suggests “keeping radio conversations short and sweet, so they are least distracting.”
Watson and Strayer will continue their research to hopefully identify a genetic or brain marker that predicts who does and does not have super multitasking skills. But even supertaskers have limits, Watson said, and should avoid the potentially dangerous practice of talking on a cell phone while driving. — Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, in press ahead of print February 2010, expected publication August 2010.
In a large study assessing AED use in North America, researchers report 38 percent survival (64 of 170 patients) to hospital discharge among the OOHCA victims fortunate enough to have an AED shock delivered prior to EMS arrival. Myron L. Weisfeldt, M.D., and colleagues at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore also report 22 percent survival (286 of 1,280 patients) among OOHCA victims given bystander CPR but no AED shock before EMS arrival.
EMS treated all of the patients but did not witness any of the cardiac arrests. When accounting for all pre-EMS types of care—no bystander CPR, bystander CPR only, CPR plus AED application and CPR plus AED shock—7 percent of the patients survived to hospital discharge. A total of 4,403 of the patients received just bystander CPR before EMS arrived; of these, 382 (9 percent) survived.
These data, from a total of 13,769 OOHCA cases between December 2005 and May 2007, offer more evidence that public-access AEDs benefit public health, the researchers suggest. — Journal of the American College of Cardiology 55(16):1713–1720, April 20, 2010.[Note: The 10 U.S. and Canadian regions participating in ROC investigations conducted this study. Watch for a complete report on ROC investigations in the near future.]
What influences EMS workers’ willingness to work during a flu pandemic? Findings from a LEADS survey of 586 active EMS workers in the U.S. suggest that anywhere from 87 to 92 percent are likely to report to work during a pandemic if guaranteed:
- Flu vaccines for themselves and their family membersReceipt of antiviral medicine after unprotected exposures to ill patients
- Infection-preventing medicine regardless of exposures
- A quarantined recovery location—besides home—should they become ill
- Being priority-listed for antiviral medicines during times of short supply
Daniel J. Barnett, M.D., MPH, and colleagues at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore found that only 59 percent of the EMS workers surveyed had a flu shot in the past year. Notably, LEADS surveys the workers filled out from May to June 2009 reveal that 12 percent would not voluntarily work during a pandemic if asked. Seven percent would refuse to work even if required, and 52 percent would stay home if they felt they would transmit disease to family members. Barnett’s team suggests these insights hint at ways to enhance EMS workers’ willingness to respond during a pandemic. — Public Library of Science (PLoS) ONE 5(3):e9865, published online March 2010.
SCA kills about 300,000 U.S. young people yearly. Researchers suspect multi-gene syndrome—a condition tied to deafness and epilepsy—may also cause young hearts to suddenly stop beating.
Two investigators working to unlock the syndrome’s secrets, Joel Hirsch and Bernard Attali, both Ph.D.s at Tel Aviv University in Israel, think cell-level signaling holds some answers. They mapped miniscule communicator structures in cell membranes that allow passage of electrical ions that signal a heart to pump. Mutated cells, which can be identified via genetic screening, do not. The research team is trying to figure out exactly what messes up communication in mutated cells so drugs may be developed to block the action of the mutation and keep a heart pumping. Sure beats relying only on AEDs to jump-start these suddenly arrested young hearts. — Medical News Today, March 12, 2010.
Looking for satisfied workers? Then seek out people who are generally pleased with life, suggest study findings from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. Nathan A. Bowling, Ph.D., and colleagues did a meta-analysis—a research method that combines results of multiple similar studies—to examine whether work satisfaction leads to life satisfaction or vice versa.
Bowling’s team pooled results of 233 studies, conducted from 1967 to 2008, that identified life and job satisfaction at two different points in time. As expected, they found life and work satisfaction were closely related. But their findings suggest general happiness strongly influences work satisfaction, while work satisfaction weakly influences overall happiness. In other words: People who are dissatisfied with life in general may, in the words of the Rolling Stones, “get no satisfaction” through work.— Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology doi:10.1348/096317909X478577, published online April 1, 2010.
Hospitals in four California EMS regions reduced ambulance diversions nearly 20 percent by improving patient flow practices, report Edward M. Castillo, Ph.D., MPH, and colleagues at the University of California, San Diego, Medical Center. They calculated ambulance diversion data from September 2006 through August 2008 to find 17,618 diversions before implementing patient flow changes. After implementation, diversions decreased to 14,177. — The Journal of Emergency Medicine doi:10.1016/jemermed.2010.02.023, published online April 10, 2010.
