Spaced CPR training is associated with improved skill retention compared with single-session massed instruction¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Across included studies, spaced training was generally associated with improved CPR skill retention compared with single-session training, including better 3-month compression depth retention in a randomized trial. → Lee Hyeon-Ji 2026

Evidence¶

Lee Hyeon-Ji 2026¶

Lee Hyeon-Ji. (2026). Training interval, feedback, and retention in cardiopulmonary resuscitation education: a systematic review. BMC Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-026-09538-4

q3 · i? · review · r2

Narrative synthesis of 20 interventional studies (RCTs and quasi-experimental designs) published 2015–2024; the review reports that "spaced training was associated with improved CPR skill retention compared with single-session, massed instruction." Table 3 records a randomized trial showing better compression-depth retention with spaced training at 3 months. No meta-analysis was feasible due to heterogeneity.

"A consistent pattern across included studies was that spaced training was associated with improved CPR skill retention compared with single-session, massed instruction."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Long-Term Memory — outcome: instruction changes it

Related Claims¶

• Peer-led and school-based CPR training achieves outcomes comparable to instructor-led models — related
• Reflective and cognitively oriented CPR approaches show potential for enhancing long-term skill retention, particularly at follow-up — a broader claim this one bears on
• Spaced Practice Improves Retention — a broader claim this one bears on
• Relearning-to-criterion designs confound distribution of practice with amount of second-session practice — related
• Spaced retrieval practice produces better final retention than massed retrieval even though spacing lowers initial retrieval success, and more absolute spacing enhances long-term retention — related
• Demonstration-based CPR training tended to produce more accurate performance than lecture-based approaches — related