St John trials female-form manikins to close cardiac arrest survival gap for women

What happened

St John is trialling 16 female-form manikins donated by the Medical Assurance Society across its 3 Steps for Life CPR training programme. Research shows women are 50 percent less likely to survive out-of-hospital cardiac arrest than men and 60 percent less likely to receive bystander defibrillation. Barriers include hesitation over exposing breasts, uncertainty about AED pad placement, and fear of causing offence. Training globally has relied almost entirely on male manikins — only about five percent are female — meaning most people lack confidence when performing CPR on women. The new manikins will allow trainees to practise chest compressions and AED placement on realistic female anatomy, building confidence across different body types. Using an AED increases survival chances by up to 40 percent, but survival odds drop 10 to 15 percent for every minute of delay.

Key facts

• Women have 50% lower survival odds following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest than men
• Women 60% less likely to receive bystander defibrillation than men
• 16 female-form manikins donated by Medical Assurance Society
• Only about 5% of CPR manikins globally are female
• AED use increases survival chances by up to 40%

What happens next

St John hopes to expand the number of female-form manikins available through its 3 Steps for Life programme over time.

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Coverage across the news outlets we track, as at publication.

Where the outlets differ

RNZ provides additional context that female-form manikins had to be sourced from Australia due to difficulty finding a New Zealand distributor, and notes this is the first time such research on gender gaps in cardiac arrest survival has become widely known. 1News emphasises the psychological hesitation around modesty and the role of training confidence.

What outlets are saying