This is a Healthcare innovation from The 70 Best Trend-Driven Innovations of 2019.

The United State of Women and NY-based agency, Joan Creative, just debuted the Womanikin, a breast attachment for CPR mannequins. WATCH THE VIDEO! The initiative was spurred by findings that women are 27% less likely than men to receive CPR when they experience cardiac arrest in public. The reason? The study found men are concerned they will accidentally violate or hurt women in the process. The Womanikin aims to get men comfortable performing CPR on/around breasts. The vest attachment for (typically male) practice torsos features breasts, and the design is open-source and free for anyone to download. The collaborators are raising funds to manufacture the Womanikin.

According to our informal poll, 100% of us women here at TrendWatching are totally OK with chest zone contact in this life-or-death scenario. Regardless of your anatomy, it’s still worth diving into this innovation:

Reverse the bad news. While women outlive men everywhere in the world (see our take on men’s health in The Future of Wellbeing) one in five women dies from heart disease. And new research identifying at-risk or underserved groups is published every day, making for some pretty dark headlines. But don’t just peruse these articles and think, “Oh, what a shame.” If you come across a particularly startling percentage, consider how to reverse it. Your team can turn bad news into a winning opportunity. What headline will compel your brand to act?

Open-source = speed to market. The Womanikin is open-source, meaning anyone can download instructions on how to make one. Creating something ‘accessible’ isn’t just about lowering prices, sometimes it’s giving people the opportunity to make it themselves! CPR educators don’t have to wait for the Womanikin to be manufactured. They can implement it straight away and start saving lives. Is there a solution to a pressing problem you can make DIY to have an immediate impact?

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