JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a global health issue with low survival rates, for which bystander Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a crucial predictor of outcomes. In China, however, bystander CPR rate and public proficiency remain low. Children—an important future first-responder group also lack adequate training. Gamification and virtual reality (VR) technologies show great potential in enhancing training effectiveness, but research on the needs, acceptability, and functional requirements of gamified CPR training kits from children’s and parents’ dual perspectives is insufficient—a gap that provides a realistic basis for this study.

Objective:

This study aimed to investigate children’s and their parents’ needs, acceptability, and functional requirements regarding the development of gamified CPR training kits.

Methods:

A cross-sectional qualitative design was adopted. The primary outcome was participants’ needs, acceptability, and functional requirements. Inclusion criteria were children aged 6-12 years, their parents, adequate communication skills, and voluntary informed consent, with purposive sampling to recruit 13 parent-child dyads from a primary school in Changsha, Hunan Province. The participants included children aged 6-12 years (average age 9.50 ± 1.50 years, 6 boys and 7 girls) and their parents (average age 38.50 ± 2.50 years, 6 females and 7 males). Semi-structured interviews were conducted separately for children and parents, with audio recording and verbatim transcription. NVivo 12 software was used for thematic coding and analysis, and dual independent coding (by two researchers) was performed to ensure rigor, with discrepancies resolved through team discussion. Thematic saturation was achieved after 13 dyads, defined as codebook stabilization and no new themes across three consecutive interviews. The study followed the COREQ guidelines, and all procedures were approved by the ethics committee.

Results:

Four main themes and nine subthemes emerged from the data: (1) Children’s approaches to acquiring CPR-related knowledge and skills (through school-organized first aid activities, family members, or social media platforms); (2) Attitudes toward gamified training kits (children’s receptiveness, and parental preferences regarding such tools); (3) Expectations for gamified CPR training kits (child-friendly design, effective skill training, personalized feedback, and scientifically grounded content.); and (4) Challenges in gamified science education (ensuring product safety and professionalism, and contextualizing game scenarios to everyday life).

Conclusions:

As children are an important reserve force for future first responders, cultivating their first-aid awareness is crucial for improving public emergency response capabilities. Effective gamified CPR training kit development requires integrating children’s and parents’ perceptions to balance entertainment, education, and practicality. This study innovatively explores dual user needs, differing from prior research focused on training outcomes rather than pre-development requirements. It addresses gaps in pediatric first-aid tool design and provides evidence-based references for the development of child-friendly, professional gamified training resources—laying a foundation for gradually enhancing CPR literacy and emergency response awareness among children in China.