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

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Emergency Medicine
• Pediatric Safety

Background:

• Sudden cardiopulmonary arrest (SCA) requires timely defibrillation for improved survival.
• Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are crucial for immediate intervention.
• Optimal AED use in elementary schools faces utilization barriers.

Purpose of the Study:

• Identify barriers to AED use in Québec City elementary schools.
• Develop targeted educational materials for AED use.
• Measure the impact of an AED teaching module on school professionals.

Main Methods:

• A quality improvement framework was used to survey 139 elementary schools on AED barriers.
• A video teaching module was created to address identified barriers.
• A mock scenario assessed AED use metrics in 92 school professionals before and after training.

Main Results:

• 52.5% survey response rate; 95% of schools had an AED, but 48.6% lacked formal training.
• AED use in simulations improved from 53% to 92% post-training (P < 0.001).
• Time to first shock decreased from 66 to 47 seconds post-training (P < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• Lack of training is a primary barrier to effective AED use in schools.
• A brief video teaching module can overcome training barriers.
• Improved AED training enhances timely and effective defibrillation for SCA events.