Identification of priority areas for public-access automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in metropolitan areas: A case study in Hangzhou, China

Observed Equity and Driving Factors of Automated External Defibrillators: A Case Study Using WeChat Applet Data

“…When OHCA occurs, the heart stops pumping blood, resulting in insufficient oxygen supply, which can lead to death if first aid measures such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and electrical defibrillation are not performed promptly [5,6]. This is an emergency situation that requires immediate measures for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED) to resume the heart beating on its own as early as possible [7][8][9][10]. The overall incidence of cardiac arrest in China in 2021 was 97.1 per 100,000 [11].…”

“…The use of an AED is an emergency measure that can be performed in the event of an OHCA, which can provide timely electrical defibrillation to restore normal heart rhythm [9,10,[12][13][14]. The use of an AED can significantly improve survival, depending on a number of factors, including the timing of the implementation of the AED, the cause of the cardiac arrest, and the patient's underlying condition [6,[15][16][17].…”

“…This suggests that the use of an AED during cardiac arrest is critical for improved survival. However, the popularity and coverage of AED facilities in China is far less than that in European and American countries and is still in the preliminary stage [10]. At present, the number of AEDs for every 100,000 people in China was about 15 in 2021 [11].…”

“…The relevant literature mainly focused on spatial distribution, accessibility, and spatial optimization layout. First, the literature with spatial distribution analysis as the main content mainly used GIS and spatial statistical methods to analyze the spatial distribution characteristics of AEDs to determine whether the distribution of AEDs is uniform and whether the potential cardiac arrest risk area is covered [9,10,19,21,27]. This kind of research can help to reveal the imbalance of the distribution of AEDs in cities and provide a basis for the rational layout and planning of AEDs.…”

“…This kind of research can help to reveal the imbalance of the distribution of AEDs in cities and provide a basis for the rational layout and planning of AEDs. Secondly, the literature focusing on accessibility analysis mainly used geographic computation and network analysis to assess the accessibility of AEDs, that is, the time and distance for people to reach the nearest AED at any location in a city [10,14,19,20]. This helps to determine the coverage of AEDs and improve the efficiency of emergency treatment.…”