This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Bystander CPR less likely in low-income black neighborhoods
Patients experiencing out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in low-income black neighborhoods were significantly less likely to receive bystander CPR when compared with those in high-income white neighborhoods, according to study results.
Of 14,225 patients with cardiac arrest, 28.6% received bystander-initiated CPR. Those in neighborhoods that were predominantly black and had low annual household incomes were less likely to receive bystander-initiated CPR (OR=0.49; 95% CI, 0.41-0.58).
Compared with patients with cardiac arrest in high-income, predominantly white neighborhoods, patients were less likely to receive bystander CPR in the following type of neighborhoods:
- Low-income, predominantly white neighborhoods (OR=0.65; 95% CI, 0.51-0.82).
- Low-income integrated neighborhoods (OR=0.62; 95% CI, 0.56-0.7).
- High-income, predominantly black neighborhoods (OR=0.77; 95% CI, 0.68-0.86).
The likelihood of receiving bystander-initiated CPR in high-income integrated neighborhoods, however, was on par with that of high-income, predominantly white neighborhoods (OR=1.03; 95% CI, 0.64-1.65).
Researchers analyzed surveillance data from 29 US sites in the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival between 2005 and 2009. Neighborhoods were characterized as white, black or integrated if more than 80% of the census tract was predominantly of one race and deemed high- or low-income based on a median household income threshold of $40,000.
“We found that the racial and socioeconomic composition of neighborhoods has important effects on the likelihood of bystander-initiated CPR for a person with an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest,” the researchers wrote. “Public health efforts that target CPR training to low-income black neighborhoods may help reduce these disparities.”
Disclosure: See the study for a full list of financial disclosures.