Recently, I had a chance to talk to Johan Israelsson, one of the founders of the Swedish network for cardiac arrest survivors and next of kin. Johan has a PhD in Caring science and has done research on cardiac arrest survivors and their health-related quality of life.
Johan tells me that the founders of the network consist of about 15 people, including representatives from the Swedish Resuscitation Council (Svenska Rådet för Hjärt-lungräddning), The Swedish Heart and Lung Association (Riksförbundet HjärtLung), but most importantly cardiac arrest survivors and their next of kin.
The network´s FB-group was created to provide a platform for those surviving a cardiac arrest or being a next of kin, to find support and comfort, as there is a lack of support available in the healthcare system. The FB-group started in the spring of 2021 and currently has over 320 members. To become a member of the FB-group, one must be a cardiac arrest survivor or a next of kin (and accept the group rules). The group provides its members with an opportunity to share their stories and experiences, which leads to powerful stories and opportunity to get to know each other. Johan believes that this network will provide the members with comfort and support, as many survivors and their next of kin may feel sense of loneliness in their experience.
The link to the FB-group is to be found in the information for survivors and next of kin that’s handed out during post cardiac arrest follow-up in Sweden, which will hopefully help even more survivors and the next of kin in the future.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/hjartstopp
/ Karin Larsson