The HANDDS Program: A systematic approach for addressing disparities in the provision of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Abstract

The current paradigm of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) blankets a community with training. Recently, the authors have found that high-risk neighborhoods can be identified, and CPR training can be targeted in the neighborhoods in which it is most needed. This article presents a novel method and pilot implementation trial for the HANDDS (identifying High Arrest Neighborhoods to Decrease Disparities in Survival) program. The authors also seek to describe example methods in which the HANDDS program is being implemented in Denver, Colorado. The HANDDS program uses a simple three-step approach: identify, implement, and evaluate. This systematic conceptual framework uses qualitative and quantitative methods to 1) identify high-risk neighborhoods, 2) understand common barriers to learning and performing CPR in these neighborhoods, and 3) implement and evaluate a train-the-trainer CPR Anytime intervention designed to improve CPR training in these neighborhoods. The HANDDS program is a systematic approach to implementing a community-based CPR training program. Further research is currently being conducted in four large metropolitan U.S. cities to examine whether the results from the HANDDS program can be successfully replicated in other locations.