Members of Stamp Out Stroke, a community outreach initiative led by the Yale Stroke and Vascular Neurology division, recently published an article about the positive impact of its high school stroke education curriculum—"Stroke Busters"—in the Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases. Stamp Out Stroke, which is comprised of stroke physicians, nurses, neurology residents, and students, aims to educate the New Haven and surrounding communities about stroke risk factors, warning signs, and the importance of receiving prompt care. Multiple medical students participate on its student-led board, including Yale School of Medicine MD students Isabel Wang, Jordan Galbraith, Wayne Chang, and Tiana Fernandez.
In the journal article, “Enhancing stroke knowledge among youth: Insights from Stroke Busters,” the authors explain that prior community efforts targeting “stroke survivors and adult community members have shown promising findings for improving stroke knowledge and presentation times to the emergency department.” The authors point out that since family members most frequently call 911, “empowering youth to recognize stroke symptoms, and seek help quickly, represents an opportunity for stroke prevention and treatment.”
The Stroke Buster curriculum aims to provide local high school students with the tools to know how and when to call 911 for a family member suffering a stroke, while also inspiring them to pursue careers in STEM. Stamp Out Stroke ran four separate sessions (two were five-day programs, and two were a one-day program) and noted a significant improvement in knowledge scores after the training, for both types of sessions. This improvement remained after eight months. Additionally, student enjoyment scores were consistently high.
Stamp Out Stroke believes community education, starting with high school students, is a key component to primary stroke prevention and looks forward to expanding the availability of its Stroke Busters curriculum.