Development of a specific stroke awareness tool for the Haitian community

While stroke awareness tools are available in English and Spanish, none specifically serve the substantial Haitian population in the United States. To fill this gap, the Florida Stroke Registry (FSR) Education Core collaborated with Haitian Creole-speaking healthcare professionals and community members to create a stroke awareness tool tailored for the Haitian Creole community. This initiative led to the development of two candidate translations for the BE-FAST acronym (Balance, Eyes, Face, Arm, Speech, Time), a validated tool proven to improve patient outcomes by enabling earlier hospital presentation. An anonymous online survey was conducted across Florida, targeting healthcare professionals such as physicians, nurses, stroke coordinators, and rehabilitation specialists. Participants compared two proposed Haitian Creole translations of BE-FAST-FEL VIT and FE VIT-and evaluated their effectiveness and ability to communicate the urgency of seeking medical attention. Responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics, proportions with 95% confidence intervals, and chi-square testing for group differences. Among 46 survey respondents, 53% were women, and 41% were fluent in Haitian Creole. The professional breakdown was 56% physicians, 10% nurses, 20% stroke coordinators, and 13% rehabilitation specialists. Most participants (93%) agreed that a Haitian Creole stroke awareness tool would benefit their communities. FEL VIT (FIGI [face], EKILIB [equilibrium], LANGAJ [language/speech], VIZYON [vision/eye], IMOBILITE [immobility], TAN/TELEFON [time/call]) was selected as the preferred translation, with 46.7% favoring it over FE VIT (31.1%). FEL VIT was also rated highest for conveying the urgency needed for rapid hospital presentation following stroke symptoms (48.8% vs. 27.9%). Through collaboration across disciplines and cultures, the FSR successfully introduced FEL VIT, a Haitian Creole adaptation of BE-FAST, which was favored by stakeholders and is ready for implementation in community stroke awareness campaigns.