Enhancing stroke knowledge among youth: Insights from Stroke Busters

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Neurology
• Medical Education

Background:

• Community stroke education yields positive outcomes, but youth-targeted programs are less understood.
• An interactive educational initiative, Stroke Busters, was developed for high schoolers, focusing on stroke prevention, recognition, and timely care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the effectiveness of the Stroke Busters program in improving stroke knowledge among high school students.
• To evaluate knowledge retention over an 8-month period.
• To compare the efficacy of 1-day versus 5-day program formats.

Main Methods:

• A prospective cohort study involving high school students participating in the 'Stroke Busters' program.
• Stroke knowledge surveys administered pre-program, post-program, and 8-months post-program.
• Comparison of scores across different program durations (1-day vs. 5-day) and evaluation of students in teaching roles.

Main Results:

• Average stroke knowledge scores significantly increased from 36.9% pre-program to 62.5% post-program (p<0.001).
• Knowledge retention was sustained up to 8 months post-program.
• Students acting as teaching assistants achieved higher post-program scores (85.7%).

Conclusions:

• The Stroke Busters program successfully enhanced stroke knowledge in high school youth.
• Both 1-day and 5-day program formats demonstrated comparable effectiveness.
• Involving students as peer educators is a promising strategy for increasing engagement and knowledge in youth stroke prevention initiatives.