Study: Most People Unwilling to Use AEDs

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Study: Most People Unwilling to Use AEDs

Washington, D.C. -- A Dutch study published online Monday in ls of

Emergency Medicine reports that less than half (47 percent) of people in a

public place with access to an automatic external defibrillator (AED) would be

willing to use it, with more than half (53 percent) unable even to

recognize one ( " Public Access Defibrillation: Time to Access the Public " ).

" An AED is only beneficial if a bystander is willing to use it when

someone is in cardiac arrest, " said lead study author Schober, MD,

Ph.D.,

of V.U. University Medical Center in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. " AEDs are

increasingly available in public places, such as the train station where we

conducted our survey. However, in our study, only 28 percent of

participants correctly identified the AED, knew its purpose and expressed a

willingness to use it. "

Just over one-third (34 percent) of participants stated that anyone is

allowed to use an AED, with nearly half (49 percent) believing only trained

personnel may use it. The most frequently mentioned reason given for not

using an AED was not knowing how it works (69 percent), following by fear of

harming the victim (14 percent). Only 6 percent of study participants

spontaneously mentioned AEDs in response to a question about what should be done

as quickly as possible for someone suspected of being in cardiac arrest.

Wide-scale public information campaigns are an important next step to exploit

the lifesavings potential of public AEDs. "

Sudden cardiac arrest is a leading cause of mortality in North America and

Europe. Odds of survival decline by 7 to 10 percent per minute of delay in

defibrillation. AED application by bystanders saves only 1.4 lives per one

million people in North America.

" AEDs are actually very easy to use, but it is obvious that the public has

not gotten that message, " said Dr. Schober. " Only a minority of

individuals demonstrated both knowledge and willingness to operate an AED.

Louis N. Molino, Sr., CET

FF/NREMT-B/FSI/EMSI

Freelance Consultant/Trainer/Author/Journalist/Fire Protection Consultant

LNMolino@...

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