Gender and age-specific aspects of awareness and knowledge in basic life support

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Emergency Medicine
• Cardiology

Background:

• The chain of survival, including early cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation, is crucial for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) outcomes.
• Despite increased automated external defibrillator (AED) availability and public awareness campaigns, their real-world use remains suboptimal.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess public knowledge and awareness of basic life support (BLS) and AED utilization in Vienna.
• To identify demographic factors influencing willingness to perform BLS and use AEDs during OHCA events.

Main Methods:

• A prospective, population-based, cross-sectional study involving 501 randomly selected Viennese inhabitants.
• Standardized telephone questionnaires were administered to gauge awareness and willingness regarding BLS and AED use.

Main Results:

• Over 52% could correctly identify OHCA and initiate BLS, but only 33% were willing to perform CPR and 50% to use an AED.
• Female participants showed significantly lower willingness for both BLS (25% vs. 40%) and AED use (44% vs. 58%) compared to males.
• Knowledge and willingness decreased with increasing age, with a notable drop in BLS (-14%) and AED-use (-19%) willingness.

Conclusions:

• Viennese public exhibits poor knowledge and awareness of BLS and AED use.
• Women and elderly individuals demonstrate the lowest willingness to intervene in OHCA situations.
• Future educational initiatives should specifically target women and the elderly to enhance BLS and AED intervention rates.