Development and Implementation of a Tailored, Reproducible Stroke Awareness Event at an Urban Community Market

Despite more than 30 years of public health campaigns, critical gaps persist in community stroke symptom recognition and awareness of the importance of calling 9-1-1. Underserved communities experience disproportionately higher risk of stroke and poorer outcomes, and they have lower reported knowledge of stroke symptoms and are less likely to receive acute time-sensitive treatments. This quality improvement initiative outlines a pathway for stroke centers to address these disparities through reproducible and customizable pop-up health awareness events that also fulfill regulatory requirements.

The nurse leaders of 2 hospital stroke programs serving the same city in California developed a collaborative stroke awareness event at an urban farmers' market in a high-risk, underserved neighborhood. Volunteers conducted a brief intervention in the form of a survey to engage participants and share information.

The event successfully engaged a diverse audience and fostered partnerships at a pop-up offering on one Sunday morning in May. A total of 128 community members participated, and 113 surveys were included in the final analysis. Pre-intervention, 42% of participants confidently recognized stroke symptoms, which increased to 88% postintervention ( P <0.0001). Participants' confidence in recognizing the importance of calling 9-1-1 increased from 22% preintervention to 93% postintervention ( P <0.0001).

An event plan for offering stroke awareness information enabled the facilitating hospitals to effectively share critical health information and gain insights into the communities served. The survey responses suggested significant improvement in stroke awareness within a limited timeframe. The collaborative event also succeeded in fostering relationships across organizations, departments, and between health care and the community.