Improve CPR Outcomes for Women: LifeSaveHer

Women are 29% less likely than men to survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, and 27% less likely than men to receive bystander CPR in the first place, controlling for location type, age, and race. This disparity stems from several reasons, including the fear of causing further injury, the belief that women do not need CPR, the worry of being accused of inappropriately touching the patient, and a reluctance to unclothe women in public, as proper CPR and AED administration requires the patient to have a naked torso.

Currently, most CPR classes require practicing chest compressions and AED administration on flat-chested manikins. Furthermore, there is also inadequate representation of non-male individuals in most training modules and course plans.

We are a group of MIT and Harvard undergraduates who have created an affordable, universal, and AED-compatible female CPR mannikin adaptor, the LifeSaveHer. The LifeSaveHer adaptors have already begun testing in CPR classes across training centers. Our next steps are to manufacture our product on a greater scale and research the effects of more representative CPR manikins on CPR training outcomes. We hope you would be willing to contribute to our mission of increasing representation in CPR classes, and closing the gender gap in CPR outcomes!

More information can be found at our website (https://www.lifesavehercpr.org/).