Stereotype Threat Effect on CPR Performance in Covid-19 Intensive Care Units: A Randomised Controlled Mannequin Study

Stereotype threat (ST) is an important issue that has been studied repeatedly in the psychology literature. ST is the thought that a person will be negatively evaluated and judged regarding a negative stereotype that belongs to the group to which he/she belongs. Most people are members of a social group associated with at least one negative stereotype. Therefore, many people in society may be the target of stereotype threat. Previous research has shown that the individual performance of people in groups identified with negative stereotypes, who are exposed to stereotype threat, decreases. The ST may arise when there is an environment in which the skills of the person that may be affected by a stereotype associated with his/her group can be measured, or if this stereotype has become evident.

In Covid-19, there has been a rapid increase in the number of intensive care patients in our country and around the World. Due to this rapid increase, the number of intensivist physicians is insufficient, and non-intensivist physicians from various branches are assigned to intensive care units. In social media and newspaper reports, it was stated that non-intensivist physicians have insufficient knowledge and skills in intubation and in the treatment of lung infection, and the public was asked to take precautions. However, these physicians were expected to treat lung infections and intubate the patients in intensive care units during pandemics. It is unknown to what extent such negative stereotypes, established or already existing, affect the performance of non-intensivist physicians during their appointment to the intensive care units during the pandemic.

As in all other departments, the most basic task expected from doctors in intensive care units is effective basic life support applied for the treatment of cardiopulmonary arrest. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a basic life support model that is mandatory taught in medical schools. For this reason, it is expected that all doctors, regardless of their specialties, will be able to perform CPR effectively. The use of manikins is quite common in order to standardize CPR training and performance measurement. The aim of this study is to evaluate how non-intensivist physicians assigned to intensive care units during the pandemic are affected by stereotype threat and to investigate the necessary conditions to prevent a possible decrease in performance in these physicians.