Women suffering out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the U.S. are less likely to receive bystander CPR than men.
This disparity suggests a systemic bias in emergency response that may lower survival rates for women. If bystanders hesitate to perform chest compressions on women, the window for successful resuscitation narrows.
An analysis of over 300,000 cardiac arrests [1] found that women have a 14% lower likelihood [2] of receiving bystander CPR compared to men. The study focused on public emergencies occurring outside of hospital settings [1].
Researchers said the gap is linked to the design of medical training tools. Most standard CPR mannequins lack female anatomy, specifically breasts. This omission may create a perception bias among trainees, making them less comfortable or more hesitant to intervene when facing a female victim.
By incorporating breasts into training dummies, experts said that the medical community can normalize performing life-saving measures on women. The goal is to ensure that the physical differences between male and female chests do not act as a psychological barrier during a crisis.
Standardizing gender-inclusive equipment could bridge the gap in care. When bystanders are trained on realistic representations of all patients, the likelihood of immediate intervention increases regardless of the victim's gender.
“Women are 14% less likely than men to receive bystander CPR.”
The gap in bystander CPR rates highlights how training materials influence real-world medical outcomes. By using mannequins that only reflect male anatomy, the healthcare industry may be inadvertently training the public to view female bodies as 'different' or 'off-limits' during emergencies, contributing to a measurable disparity in survival opportunities.
