Challenging the Status Quo – Using Positive Psychology to Improve Quality of Cardiac Arrest Survivorship

Friday, December 1, 2023

3:35 PM – 3:50 PM PST

Location: Town and Country Ballroom C

Primary Presenter(s)

Alexander M. Presciutti, PhD, MSCS

Clinical Psychology Fellow
Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA, United States

Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose

Co-Presenter(s)

Sarah M. Perman, MD MSCE

Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine
University of Colorado
Denver, Colorado, United States

Disclosure information not submitted.

Moderator(s)

JF

Joe Farrell

Disclosure information not submitted.

Disclosure(s):

Alexander M. Presciutti, MA, MSCS: No financial relationships to disclose

Summary: We will discuss quantitative and qualitative research findings that inform ways providers, cardiac arrest survivors, and co-survivors can improve quality of survivorship through positive psychology.

Synopsis of Presentation: Up to 2 in 3 cardiac arrest (CA) survivors and co-survivors experience clinically significant emotional distress. Despite a dire need for emotional support, there are few psychological interventions available for the CA community.

Positive psychology skills, also known as psychological strengths, can be learned and honed. These can include mindfulness, adaptive coping, effectively utilizing social support, and living a life of meaning and purpose. Focusing on “building up” one’s positive psychology skills can lead to a more fulfilling life, and therefore indirectly reduce chronic distress.

In this session we first discuss our quantitative and qualitative research that suggests protective impacts of positive psychology skills on emotional distress in survivors and co-survivors. We discuss our data from consecutively enrolled survivors from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, as well as a convenience sample of long-term survivors and co-survivors. Based on our findings we then provide suggestions for implementing positive psychology skills in clinical practice, research programs, and in everyday coping with CA.

As CA-specific psychological interventions are currently in development, honing one’s positive psychology skills is a promising interim solution to coping with and improving survivorship.

Learning Objectives:

Attendees will learn about new quantitative and qualitative research findings on the protective impact of positive psychology factors on emotional distress in cardiac arrest survivors and their caregivers. 2. Attendees will learn actionable ways to implement positive psychology approaches in their clinical work, research projects, and in their own coping with cardiac arrest.
This presentation will describe three (3) strategies for implementing effective support systems for cardiac arrest victims, survivors and their families and rescuers.