A Dutch study published at www.annemergmed.com on Jan. 31 indicates EMS and other health providers have some community public access defibrillation (PAD) education work ahead of them.1 The investigators conducted a standardized survey of visitors to the Central Railway Station in Amsterdam, which is outfitted with AEDs and attracts large numbers of visitors from around the world. A total of 1,018 surveys of participants from 38 nations were included. They found:
- Only 28% of participants could correctly identify an AED, knew its purpose and said they were willing to use it;
- Just 34% believed anyone could use an AED, while 49% believed special training was required;
- The majority cited lack of knowledge about how an AED works as the No. 1 reason they would not use an AED; and
- Of all respondents, 14% expressed fear of hurting the person having the cardiac event.
- The researchers noted differences between subgroups, “which may aid to tailor public information campaigns to specific target audiences.
“Only a minority of individuals demonstrate sufficient knowledge and willingness to operate an AED, suggesting that the public is not yet sufficiently prepared for the role it is destined for. Wide-scale public information campaigns are an important next step to exploit the lifesaving potential of public access defibrillation,” they stated.
Reference
- Schober P, van Dehn FB, Bierens JJ, et al. (2011). Public access defibrillation: Time to access the public. Ann Emerg Med. 2011 Feb 2 [Epub ahead of print.] doi:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2010.12.016
