FAST Heroes: Results of Cross-Country Implementation of a Global School-Based Stroke Education Campaign

Abstract

BackgroundEducating the at-risk population about stroke symptoms and requirement of calling an ambulance when stroke strikes is challenging. This exploratory cross-country study provides insights to the FAST Heroes educational campaign and outcomes hitherto achieved.AimsThe primary aim of the study was to measure the transfer of stroke-related knowledge to parents after a global school-based FAST Heroes educational campaign for 5- to 9-year-old children in 14 different countries. The secondary aim was to evaluate parents and teachers' acceptability toward the program.MethodsThe duration of the program was 5 h; 1 h per week, joining face-to-face educational sessions with workbooks, cartoons, web-based learning, and other fun activities. Outcomes were measured before implementation (t1), after implementation (t2), and at 6-month follow-up (t3). Program acceptability and stroke knowledge were evaluated by feedback surveys for teachers and parents.ResultsWorldwide, 4,202 parents completed the program with their children and answered surveys at t1 and t2. They increased their knowledge of three stroke symptoms from 48 to 83% (p < 0.001). All three surveys were completed by 86 parents, who improved their knowledge of stroke symptoms, 55% (t1), 79% (t2), and 94% (t3) (p < 0.001). Overall, the educational messages were successfully passed onward.ConclusionsFindings confirm the primary aim of the study that is knowledge about stroke transfer well from children to their families through the FAST Heroes program. Second, parents and teachers globally consider the program feasible and worthwhile. The results will inform further rollout of the campaign.

Mnemonic utilization in stroke education: FAST and BEFAST adoption by certified comprehensive stroke centers

“…Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that no studies have examined the ease of remembering BEFAST. Given the substantial investments in public education campaigns ( 6 ), the multifaceted implications of mnemonic selection and its far-reaching effects become even more apparent. This highlights the compelling need for further comprehensive, large-scale studies in public stroke education.…”

Is stroke knowledge retained? Four-year longitudinal data of FAST Heroes campaign

“…The questionnaire used in this study was based on the Stroke Preparedness Questionnaire (SPQ) (Tsakpounidou et al, 2022), but was slightly modified to account for age appropriateness (Please see Appendix). The variables used to measure the campaign's effectiveness were knowledge of stroke symptoms, described in the FAST acronym (Face-Arm-Speech), knowing the appropriate course of action in case of suspected stroke (i.e., calling for an ambulance) and familiarity with the European emergency number (i.e., 112).…”

“…Various studies have shown that children serve as effective conduits for disseminating stroke knowledge to a wider population, including parents, grandparents, and extended family members (Williams et al, 2012;Amano et al, 2014;Matsuzono et al, 2015;Ishigami et al, 2017;Kato et al, 2017;Marto et al, 2017;Tomari et al, 2017;Hino et al, 2018;Tsakpounidou and Proios, 2021;Proios et al, 2022;Tsakpounidou et al, 2022). Fast Heroes program is an interactive stroke educational program aimed at equipping schoolchildren with the ability to identify stroke symptoms promptly and act appropriately in case of suspected stroke (i.e., calling immediately the emergency number 112 for an ambulance).…”

“…Nevertheless, it is still necessary for longitudinal data regarding the post-campaign knowledge retention of stroke symptomatology and proper course of action to be presented, so as to see if stroke knowledge is retained and if stroke related health campaigns can actually produce long-term results. The Fast Heroes program has been shown to produce rather promising results with regards to knowledge gains post-implementation (Tsakpounidou et al, 2020(Tsakpounidou et al, , 2022Tsakpounidou and Proios, 2021). The results of the global cross-country Fast Heroes educational campaign, involving 4,202 participants showed that immediately after post-implementation 70% of the participants knew the correct response for all three stroke symptoms, 83% could accurately identify each of the three symptoms, and 85% knew the correct emergency number (Tsakpounidou et al, 2022).…”

“…The Fast Heroes program has been shown to produce rather promising results with regards to knowledge gains post-implementation (Tsakpounidou et al, 2020(Tsakpounidou et al, , 2022Tsakpounidou and Proios, 2021). The results of the global cross-country Fast Heroes educational campaign, involving 4,202 participants showed that immediately after post-implementation 70% of the participants knew the correct response for all three stroke symptoms, 83% could accurately identify each of the three symptoms, and 85% knew the correct emergency number (Tsakpounidou et al, 2022). What this study aimed to investigate was whether this knowledge gains could be successfully retained over longer periods of time.…”