Abstract 244: Racial Disparities In Cardiopulmonary Training Status in the United States

Abstract

Background: Survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest varies by race, possibly due to poor penetration of CPR training in minority communities. Targeted trainings and campaigns to increase access to CPR education have sought to address these gaps, yet it is unknown if these initiatives have equalized training rates. Objectives: We sought to examine racial variation of CPR training status on the individual-level by assessing current CPR training and ever CPR trained status. We hypothesized that whites would be more likely to hold current CPR training and be ever trained in CPR compared to minorities. Methods: As a secondary analysis to a previous random digit dial survey of a nationally-representative adult sample, we defined CPR training status of individuals as currently trained (only ≤2 years) and ever trained. Chi-squared test and multivariate logistic regression were used to determine variation by race. Results: From 09/2015-11/2015, 9,022 individuals completed the national survey. Of those, 65% had been CPR trained at some point in time, while 18% reported being currently trained. Minorities were significantly less likely to ever be trained in CPR compared to whites (54.9% vs 70.8%, p<0.01). However, minorities and whites were equally as likely to be currently CPR trained (18.2% vs. 18.2%, p=0.99); no significant difference was found when adjusting for age, sex, and education (p=ns). Probability of training status by age displayed variation between groups (Figure 1). Conclusions: Significant disparities by race were observed in those ever trained in CPR, however no significant difference exists in attainment of current CPR training. Increased access to CPR education and targeted training campaigns may have closed the gap in current CPR training status disparities. Continued surveillance of CPR training rates is needed to monitor these findings over time.