Table 1.

Characteristics of the early intervention service

Target group	Survivors of cardiac arrest and their caregiver
Provider of intervention	Specialized nurses with experience in the field of cardiology, neurology or rehabilitation medicine
Required competences of the nurses	Basic knowledge about pathophysiology and treatment of cardiac arrest and cardiac disease
	Knowledge of and the ability to detect possible cognitive and emotional impairments
	Skills to give relevant information and provide support
	Skills to teach and stimulate the use of self-management techniques and action plans
Start intervention	Soon after discharge from the hospital, preferably within one month
Duration intervention	Approximately three months
Frequency	Between one and six face-to-face consultations
Duration of consultations	First session: 1 hour
	Follow-up sessions: 30 minutes Telephone consultations are optional extra sessions
Location	Home visits or outpatient clinic
Content	Compulsory topics and additional optional topics at request or indication (see Table 3)
Additional information supply	A special information booklet is provided to all participants during the first session
	Several pre-existing folders about cardiologic and neurologic topics are available as needed
Cognitive screening
Subjective	Checklist or interview
Objective	Short cognitive screening instrument
Optional domains of further screening	Anxiety/depression, post-traumatic stress and caregiver strain