Disparities Regarding Inadequate Automated External Defibrillator Training and Potential Barriers to Successful Cardiac Resuscitation in Public School Systems

Reducing Barriers to Optimal Automated External Defibrillator Use: An Elementary School Intervention Study

“…These findings have been replicated in studies from the USA. 3,17 For the minority of institutions reporting no AED on school premises, 2 barriers to AED acquisition were identified: 1) lack of financial resources and 2) not entertaining its purchase. Both barriers are modifiable factors with simple actions, such as raising awareness and financial support.…”

“…Nous avons ensuite mis Nontraumatic sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in children is rare, with an incidence of fewer than 2.1 per 100,000 personyears. [1][2][3][4] However, the outcome is often poor and the consequences are devastating for both the family and the community. 4,5 Sudden cardiac death is responsible for approximately 5%-10% of all deaths in children 5-19 of age.…”

“…8 In contrast, survival can reach 64% in schools with a predetermined action plan. 3,9 A recent survey of schools from New York State linked AED deployment to long-term survival without disabilities of 68% post-SCA in adults and students. 10 In children, timely AED use is also associated with a higher survival rate.…”

“…Insufficient training and difficulties accessing the AED have been reported as significant barriers that negatively impact the willingness to use an AED on school premises. 3 In Qu ebec, the potential barriers to AED use by school faculty members and possible mitigation strategies and interventions to improve AED utilisation have never been studied. Therefore, using a quality improvement in healthcare framework, 15 we sought to improve knowledge and availability of defibrillation devices for SCA in elementary schools.…”

“…First, to assess barriers to AED use, we used a validated survey that has already been implemented in the USA and translated it from English. 3 Second, the translated survey was pilot tested with 5 teachers to assess comprehension and fidelity of the questions. The final survey included 21 items, of which 8 were relevant as potential barriers.…”