Abstract
Early recognition of stroke signs and symptoms is essential for early treatment and improvement of clinical outcomes. We performed a stroke education program for junior high school students and their parents. In February 2010, 79 students in 2 classes of the 1st grade of a junior high school and their parents were enrolled. Subjects were divided into 2 groups: an intervention class (39 students) and a control class (40 students). Students in the intervention class received a 45-minute lesson about stroke signs and symptoms. This group was taught the FAST message (Facial droop, Arm weakness, Speech disturbance, Time to call 119), and stroke risk factors. School items consisting of a pen, file, magnet, sticky note with the FAST message, and stroke pamphlets were also distributed to students in the intervention class. Parents of the intervention class were educated indirectly through the stroke pamphlets and items. For all subjects, questionnaires on stroke knowledge were examined at the baseline and immediate post-lesson time-points and 3 months after the stroke lesson.
In students, the percentages of correct answers did not differ significantly between the 2 classes at the baseline. Three months after the stroke lesson, students in the intervention class answered more correctly than in the control class to the questions of facial palsy (97% in the intervention class vs. 55% in the control class; P<0.0001), speech disturbance (100% vs. 83%; P=0.006), calling 119 for stroke (90% vs. 55%; P=0.001), smoking (87% vs. 63%; P=0.012), hypertension (92% vs. 73%; P=0.021) and the FAST message (97% vs. 13%; P<0.0001). Parents of the intervention group also answered more correctly the question of the FAST message (82% vs. 19%; P<0.0001) than did the control group 3 months after the stroke lesson.
We demonstrated that the stroke education program for junior high school students and their parents improved their stroke knowledge, especially of the FAST message.
