Students’ Level of Awareness of Automated External Defibrillator Locations on a University Campus

Abstract

Objectives: This study had two objectives: (1) to determine students’ level of awareness of Automated External Defibrillator (AED) locations in university athletic facilities and (2) to identify factors associated with the level of their awareness.

Methods: There were 451 respondents (279 male, 167 female, and 5 other) to the questionnaire distributed among the freshmen and sophomores at the Faculty of Sport Sciences (n＝996). The questionnaire included questions on each participant’s profile and the 20 locations (13 with and 7 without AED) on the university campus. The proportion of correct answers about the AED locations was calculated, and the profiles associated with the level of awareness of those locations were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression.

　Results: The median (interquartile range) of correct answers was 5 (1-9), with the highest distribution at the zero correct answer (14.9%). Following multivariate analysis, the participants from the Department of Health were significantly more aware than those in the Departments of Sport and the Departments of Physical education. In addition, two-thirds of the participants (67.6%) belonging to sports clubs accurately identified the nearest AED locations to their activities.

Conclusion: Many participants were unaware of correct AED locations, which may become a barrier to apply AED on cardiac arrest patient. However, students in Department of Health, who are exposed to AED training as part of their curriculum, demonstrated higher level of awareness in AED location than other students. Two-thirds of the participants who participated in club activities were aware of the AED installation status of facilities used for their activities. Thus, our findings suggest that completion of AED training in class and increased familiarity with the facility from daily use are key factors that influence the level of awareness about AED locations on campus.