One Year with Kids Save Lives: Schoolchildren learn to save lives

The national project Kids Save Lives has now been running for one year in the Ostrobothnia wellbeing services county and continues to spread life‑saving knowledge in schools. The project, supported by the WHO, aims to ensure that all schoolchildren receive two lessons in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) every year.

The project was first piloted at Replot-Björkö School and Vaasan Steiner School. After the official launch, the project team trained teachers in Kristinestad and Närpes during autumn 2025, and now in spring 2026 in Kaskö and Jakobstad.

- Teachers receive a four‑hour course covering both theory and practical skills, after which they teach their own students. Research shows that teachers are at least as effective as healthcare professionals in teaching children CPR, as they can adapt the instruction to their class, says Jannica Andtfolk, senior lecturer in nursing at Novia and instructor within Kids Save Lives.

The Goal: Integrating CPR Training into the School Curriculum

Andtfolk leads the project in Ostrobothnia together with Miia Joensuu (VAMK) and Essi Vesterlund and Raku Hautamäki (Ostrobothnia Wellbeing Services County).

Students learn to recognize cardiac arrest, call for help, perform CPR, and use defibrillators. An important goal is also to reduce children’s fear and strengthen their courage to act. The long‑term aim of Kids Save Lives is to include CPR training in the national curriculum.

- More than 50 percent of people who suffer cardiac arrest do not receive help in time. By teaching CPR in schools, we increase awareness of cardiac arrest and give more people the skills to help those affected. This is an extremely important project that saves lives, says Andtfolk.

The training is free of charge for all participating schools, offered in both Swedish and Finnish, and requires no prior knowledge. Teachers receive ready‑to‑use teaching materials, and each school is assigned a contact person who can support the teachers when the instruction begins. The project is funded by the Brita Maria Renlund Memorial Foundation.

The initiative is organized by the Finnish Resuscitation Council together with several health organizations. Novia University of Applied Sciences, Vaasa University of Applied Sciences (VAMK), and the Ostrobothnia Wellbeing Services County (ÖVPH) are the key actors behind the implementation in Ostrobothnia.

Questions about the project can be directed to:

• Novia UAS, senior lecturer jannica.andtfolk@novia.fi or 0504335962