• Dokyeong Lee, Jan-Karl Stiepak, Christopher Pommerenke, Stefan Poloczek, Ulrike Grittner, and Christof Prugger.
• Institute of Public Health, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin; Fire department of Berlin, Berlin; Emergency Medical Services Medical Director, Berlin; Institute of Biometry and Clinical Epidemiology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin; Berlin Institute of Health, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin.
• Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2022 Jun 7; 119 (22): 393399393-399.

BackgroundThe use of a public access defibrillator (PAD) increases the probability of surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). No strategies exist, however, for the optimal distribution of PADs in an urban area in order to meet existing needs and ensure equal access for all potential users. It thus seems likely that the accessibility of PADs on the spatial level varies widely as a function of living circumstances.MethodsThis cross-sectional study is based on registry data concerning PAD (2022, n = 776) and OHCA (2018-2020, n = 4051), along with data on socioeconomic factors on the spatial level in Berlin (12 districts and 137 subdistricts). Associations of socioeconomic factors with the number of PADs per 10 000 inhabitants and the PAD coverage rate of sites of previous OHCAs were investigated.ResultsThe median number of PADs per 10 000 inhabitants ranged from 0.46 to 2.67 at the district level, and only five districts had a median PAD coverage rate of sites of previous OHCAs above 0%, after aggregation of the analyses at the subdistrict level. Subdistricts with a more favorable economic status and a greater income disparity had a higher PAD density. Socially disadvantaged subdistricts had no association with PAD density.ConclusionThere are large deficits in the distribution of PADs at the small-scale spatial level in Berlin with respect to the goals of meeting existing needs and ensuring equal access for all potential users. The findings presented here will be of importance for the planning of future PAD programs so that the distributional efficiency and fairness of PAD in urban areas can be improved.

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