Abstract 129: Gender Differences and Receipt of Telephone Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation of Suspected Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrests

Abstract

Introduction: Women receive bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) less frequently in public. The gender of the person calling 911 and gender of the telecommunicator may influence receipt of telephone CPR for women with suspected out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA). Objectives: We sought to assess whether gender of the caller was associated with women’s receipt of CPR for suspected OHCA. Secondarily, we examined gender of the telecommunicator and the receipt of CPR by women with suspected OHCA. We hypothesized that receipt of CPR for women patients will be less when the caller is a woman compared to when a caller is a man, while gender of the telecommunicator will not affect the receipt of CPR by patient gender. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of 911 calls of suspected OHCAs in Durham, NC (08/1/2021-10/31/2021). Calls were professionally transcribed. A database was created of the calls including gender of the caller, telecommunicator, and patient (assigned by coder as woman/man/other), as well as characteristics of initiation and receipt of CPR. Gender of the caller and gender of the telecommunicator were examined for their association with gender of the patient. Data were analyzed descriptively. Results: Eighty-eight calls were examined, representing 82 patients. Excluding pediatric arrests (<18 years old) and healthcare facility arrests, 79 were included. Of those, 36% of patients were women, mean age was 58±20, and 39% received bystander CPR (33% of women, 46% of men). Sixty percent of the callers were women and 70% of the calls were conducted by a women telecommunicator. Of the calls made by women, 25% of women patients received CPR compared to 48% of men. In contrast, of the calls made by men, 40% of women patients and 40% of men patients received CPR. Similarly, of the telecommunicators that were men, 40% of women patients and 40% of men patients received CPR. Of the telecommunicators that were women, 30% of the women patient’s received CPR compared to 47% of the men patients. Conclusion: Gender of the caller and telecommunicator may influence the likelihood of women’s versus men’s receipt of CPR. Further research is needed to understand whether gender bias impacts these interactions and what types of interventions could improve equity.