The geographic distribution of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and the chain of survival in Ireland
Siobhan Masterson
National University of Ireland, Galway
Siobhán Masterson is a HRB Research Fellow with the Discipline of General Practice in NUI Galway. She is a Dietitian turned Research Officer who has worked in service implementation and project management with the Health Service Executive (HSE) since 1995. In 2007, Siobhán was appointed manager of the National Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Register project (OHCAR), a collaboration between the HSE, NUI Galway and Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC). In 2015 Siobhán moved to her current post, where she is also a PhD student. The title of her thesis is “A Geographic Model for Improving Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Survival in Ireland”.
Abstract
Importance of the work and objectives Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart suddenly stops pumping blood around the body. Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is the term used to describe cardiac arrest that occurs somewhere... [ view full abstract ]
Importance of the work and objectives
Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart suddenly stops pumping blood around the body. Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is the term used to describe cardiac arrest that occurs somewhere other than in an acute hospital. Without intervention, death occurs within minutes of collapse. In order to optimise survival from OHCA, knowledge of the spatial distribution of OHCA and the availability of resuscitation, or ‘Chain of Survival’, is required. The aim of this study was to describe OHCA incidence and Chain of Survival availability in a manner that could support pre-hospital planning in the Republic of Ireland.
Methodologies
In view of Ireland’s heterogeneous settlement pattern, we analysed the association between varying degrees of rurality, OHCA incidence and the availability of the Chain of Survival. A multi-class urban-rural classification that accounts for population density, settlement size and land-use was used.
Main results and conclusion
When adjusted for age and sex, the incidence of adult OHCA decreases with increasing rurality. We found also, that the lowest levels of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation occurred in the most urban class and that the average distance to the nearest ambulance station and average call-response interval increased with greater rurality. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the very first whole-country geographic descriptions of OHCA to be performed internationally. It is also the first OHCA study to use a multi-class urban-rural classification that considers rurality as more than a function of population density.
Authors
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Siobhan Masterson
(National University of Ireland, Galway)
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John Cullinan
(National University of Ireland, Galway)
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Conor Teljeur
(Trinity College Dublin)
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Akke Vellinga
(National University of Ireland, Galway)
Topic Area
Please tick the most appropriate topic for your submission: Others
Session
OS-2C » Health Risk B (15:30 - Monday, 15th August, Dillon Theatre)
