American Heart Association expands CPR access with community outreach and culturally relevant training
The American Heart Association has continued to cultivate relationships with community-based organizations to empower every corner of our community in becoming a vital link in the chain of survival and provide CPR when it matters most.
Most recently, the Association hosted their first cohort of eight community-based organizations and trained trusted community leaders in CPR and first aid. After completing the 8-hour training curriculum, these leaders will be able to train neighboring New Yorkers in CPR in their native languages. Languages included in the ongoing initiative include Spanish, Arabic, Bangla, Mandarin, and Yoruba – ensuring that life-saving skills are accessible and relevant to the communities they serve.
Additionally, the Association has pursued advertisement opportunities with linguistically diverse media outlets and major streaming services. The Association is currently running a Spanish advertisement with iHeart Radio. The advertisement addresses the out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival rate, shares the two steps to Hands-Only CPR and provides a call to action for listeners to become part of the Nation of Lifesavers.
In June and July, the American Heart Association placed advertisements in local publications that produce content in languages other than English. The advertisement centered around children and cardiac arrest, encouraging parents to know Hands-Only CPR and join the Nation of Lifesavers. Advertisements were published in Mandarin and Korean through World Journal and Korea Daily.
Other strategies being implemented in clinical settings and among community-based organizations include:
- Blood Pressure Privacy Screens: Self-Measured Blood Pressure (SMBP) privacy screens are designed to dignify and support the experience of monitoring blood pressure outside of clinical settings.
- Multilingual Accessibility: Educational materials available in English and ten additional languages, selected based on the city’s Limited English Proficiency (LEP) data and community conversations.
- Supplemental One-Pagers: Accompanying one-pagers provided in all ten languages to reinforce understanding and accessibility.
- Visuals:
Left: Italian, Right: Bengali
The American Heart Association strives to meet people where they are, and that means increasing accessibility to life-saving resources in every neighborhood across the five boroughs. These opportunities are made possible through the generosity of the Brian Kingston Family Fund.