Comparison of Emergency Medical Dispatch Systems for Performance of Telecommunicator-Assisted Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Among 9-1-1 Callers With Limited English Proficiency

IMPORTANCE: Increasing bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) among racial/ethnic minority groups and culturally underserved populations is a key strategy in improving health care disparities in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. OBJECTIVE: To ascertain whether implementation of the Los Angeles Tiered Dispatch System (LA-TDS) was associated with improved performance of telecommunicator-assisted CPR (T-CPR) among 9-1-1 callers with limited English proficiency in the City of Los Angeles. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cohort study compared emergency medical services–treated, nontraumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest calls using the Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS) from January 1 to March 31, 2014, with calls using LA-TDS from January 1 to March 31, 2015. Trained data abstractors evaluated all 9-1-1 audio recordings for the initiation of T-CPR and the elapsed time to predefined events. Data were analyzed between January and December 2017. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was the prevalence of T-CPR among 9-1-1 callers with limited English proficiency for field-confirmed nontraumatic cardiac arrests. Additional outcomes included T-CPR among callers with English proficiency and the elapsed time until key events in the call. RESULTS: Of the 1027 emergency medical services calls during the study periods, 597 met the inclusion criteria. A total of 289 calls (48%) were made using MPDS (263 callers with English proficiency, and 26 callers with limited English proficiency), and 308 calls (52%) were made using LA-TDS (273 callers with English proficiency, and 35 callers with limited English proficiency). No differences between MPDS and LA-TDS cohorts were found in age, sex, known comorbidities, arrest location (private vs public), or witnessed status. The prevalence of T-CPR among callers with limited English proficiency was significantly greater using LA-TDS (69%) vs MPDS (28%) (odds ratio [OR], 5.66; 95% CI, 1.79-17.85; P = .003). For callers with English proficiency, the prevalence of T-CPR improved from 55% using MPDS to 67% using LA-TDS (OR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.15-2.41; P = .007). With LA-TDS, callers with limited English proficiency had a significant decrease in time to recognition of cardiac arrest (OR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.41-0.84; P = .005) and dispatch of resources (OR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.54-0.94; P = .02). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The LA-TDS compared with MPDS was associated with increased performance of T-CPR for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests involving 9-1-1 callers with limited English proficiency. Further studies are needed in communities with a predominance of people with limited English proficiency to characterize bystander response, promote activation of the chain of survival, and clarify the precise elements of LA-TDS that can improve T-CPR performance.