Abstract TP232: The Impact of Heat Mapping to Understand Community Needs for Stroke Awareness

Great stroke programs believe that their program starts at the community level. With that in mind, an aggressive stroke community awareness campaign started in 2022 utilizing the BEFAST acronym from the American Stroke Association to educate the community on the signs and symptoms of stroke and calling 911 immediately. BEFAST education is crucial, as early recognition of stroke symptoms and the importance of calling 911 are critical to improving outcomes. The challenge of providing this important life altering education is determining how to identify which communities were at an increased risk and how to get the education to the community. Utilizing the community health risk assessment findings from 2021 identified Cumberland and Salem Counties as social economic depressed areas with the highest incidence of cardiovascular and stroke disease in the state of New Jersey. The question that was raised was how we best capture the at-risk population to increase awareness of stroke signs and symptoms and utilize 911 services. Heat mapping was utilized to understand and address community needs related to stroke awareness. By identifying areas with critical gaps in stroke awareness the Stroke Program was able to focus its community education resources more effectively to emphasize the rapid identification of stroke symptoms and the importance of utilizing 911. The development of heat maps was completed by utilizing patient zip codes over a three-year period of patients that had suffered a stroke to help identify at risk communities. The stroke program then focused its education efforts on areas that showed a high volume of patients presenting to the emergency department with stroke symptoms. BEFAST education was provided at churches, food banks, secondhand stores, community centers, hair salons, fairs and retail pharmacies. The outcomes demonstrated an increase in 911 calls (12%), thrombolytic cases (15%), and the amount of community members reached (60%) over the 36-month period (2022-2024). This data shows that the heat mapping strategy for targeting and delivering BEFAST education to the community is having a positive impact. In conclusion, the impact of utilizing heat mapping to identify areas at risk for strokes has improved the community’s ability to rapidly identify a stroke, call 911 and ultimately decrease long-term disability and save lives.