FAST Heroes is an international program aimed at teaching children aged 5-9 years to recognize stroke symptoms and develop the skill of calling an emergency medical service. The program was developed with the support of the Angels Initiative and approved by the World Stroke Organization.
In the 2020-2021 academic year, the program was implemented in 14 countries. In Ukraine, we coordinate the program and have become a global leader among the 14 countries that launched it for the first time. We achieved 35% of all global results. Moreover, there are already lives saved in Ukraine thanks to the program.
According to WHO, stroke is the second most common cause of death.
Each year, approximately 110,000 cases of stroke occur in Ukraine.
Primarily, those at risk are people over 70 years old – grandmothers and grandfathers. Many stroke patients do not receive timely assistance because they arrive at hospitals too late. This happens, in part, because people do not know how to recognize the symptoms of a stroke. A patient must receive medical assistance within 4.5 hours of symptom onset.
Young children often spend time with their grandparents and can also be a source of new knowledge for their relatives. Families can save the lives of their elderly relatives by learning the symptoms of a stroke.
The challenge was to launch an educational program during the pandemic and remote learning, engage teachers and families across Ukraine, and raise awareness about stroke symptoms.
Additionally, the FAST Heroes project was being implemented in Ukraine for the first time. To encourage teachers to register on the website, it was necessary to simultaneously raise awareness about the program through a communication campaign.
The strategy was based on developing partnerships to engage proactive, innovative teachers in the ambassador program, who would spark interest in the project and involve teachers from all over Ukraine. A key aspect of the integrated communication campaign for FAST Heroes was focusing on working with target audiences.