FAST 112 HEROES : A kindergarten-based educational stroke intervention for the whole family

Health Education Journal

Proios

2021

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Background: FAST (Face, Arm, Speech, Time) 112 Heroes is an educational programme that delivers information to children and their extended families helping them identify the principal signs of stroke and informing them how to respond appropriately in the event of a stroke. Objectives: To examine the baseline stroke literacy that extended families possess, as well as to assess whether children enrolled in FAST 112 Heroes programme effectively convey stroke knowledge to their extended family. Design: Field trial. Setting: Four schools in Northern Greece – two public and two private. Methods: Parents of preschool aged (5–7 years) children completed stroke knowledge questionnaires, before the programme began and one week after the completion of the FAST 112 Heroes programme. Findings were analysed. Results: In total, 240 parents of kindergarten children (146 women, 94 men; 20–59 years old; mean age: 38.81) completed the pre-programme questionnaire, whereas only 80 of them (33.33%) completed the post-programme questionnaire. Before the programme started, 30 out of 80 parents (37.5%) recognised the three rudimentary stroke symptoms, compared to 68 out of 80 (85%) after the completion of the programme ( p = .00). Parental awareness of the emergency number 112 and of the FAST acronym before programme implementation was relatively poor. Conclusions: Improvement of stroke knowledge post-implementation was observed in the extended family of preschool children enrolled in the FAST 112 Heroes programme which suggests that the latter delivered stroke information to their families effectively.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preschool children deliver stroke knowledge to their families with the FAST 112 Heroes educational programme

Health Education Journal

Proios

2021

Self Cite

“…In order to check the validity of the questionnaire, we conducted a focus group with members of the "Super Grand League Team, " a team of professionals that involves kindergarten teachers, speech language pathologists, psychologists, and special education teachers (12). The focus group unanimously agreed regarding the content of the questions.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Educational interventions about stroke, such as "Hip Hop Stroke" (10) and "Stroke 112" (11) are estimated to be effective for both children and family members through in-house communication. In this regard, the FAST (Face, Arms, Speech, Time) 112 Heroes educational program (12), is unique in that it addresses preschool children who are still in the process of developing communication and learning skills. Creating automatic knowledge gains at this age, by increasing the recognition of stroke symptoms, will lead to increasing stroke knowledge to the children's parents (13).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Baseline Stroke Literacy of Young Children Based on “FAST 112 Heroes” Program

Psomiadis

Pourliaka

et al. 2021

Front. Public Health

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Background: Young children are often unaware of emergency health conditions, such as stroke, and could serve as important vehicles to save the lives of their grandparents, who are more likely to suffer a stroke. An important aspect for the evaluation of public awareness on stroke signs and related emergency procedures is to examine the level of baseline stroke knowledge children have and whether they understand when to seek medical care on time.Objective: To examine the level of stroke symptomatology knowledge in children as well as evaluate their preparedness in stroke response before their participation in the educational program “FAST (Face, Arms, Speech, Time) 112 Heroes.”Methods: For the purpose of this work, a questionnaire was developed and adapted to preschoolers' needs. The present study involved 123 children (65 boys, 58 girls, aged 4–6.5 years; mean age: 5.30, S.D.: 0.59) from two cities in Greece. Five multiple-choice animated pictures, that were age-appropriate, were administrated to each child, along with verbal explanations provided by the investigator.Results: More than half of the participants (n = 65, 52.8%) could recognize the symptom of face drooping, 53 children (43.1%) could identify the symptom of arm hemiparesis/hemiplegia and 92 children (74.8%) were able to answer the question regarding speech disturbances. However, the number of correct answers to the question regarding the appropriate course of action in case of a stroke was the lowest among all the questions (10.6% of participants gave a correct answer). Furthermore gender and age did not play a significant role (p = 0.571 and 0.635, respectively).Conclusion: Although more than half of the enrolled preschool children could recognize stroke symptoms before their participation in the educational program, their baseline stroke knowledge, prior to their training, is low. Concurrently, they do not have sufficient knowledge on how to react appropriately in the event of a stroke. Therefore, awareness programs focusing on developing stroke literacy to children are needed, to ensure children will seek urgent medical care in case of a stroke.

“…FAST Heroes program differs significantly from other programs because it targets kindergarten children from the age of 4 years old, and it aims to educate the extended family, outside the nuclear family, about stroke symptom recognition and appropriate course of action. In this way, stroke knowledge can be delivered to the broader community ( 31 , 32 ). The element that is added in this study is the transference of stroke knowledge from children to their parents within an international setting.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Merwe

Klinke

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

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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.