Heart Disease and Stroke – Consumer Awareness and Education – Face Arms Speech Time (F.A.S.T)

Overview

The purpose of the grant opportunity is to promote community awareness of Face Arms Speech Time (F.A.S.T). The F.A.S.T message describes the most common signs and symptoms of a stroke. The grant opportunity aims to increase community awareness of the F.A.S.T message to enable early detection of stroke, leading to timely emergency treatment and improved health outcomes for stroke patients. The risk factors for stroke have significant overlap with risk factors for heart disease, and include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, tobacco and e-cigarette use, diabetes, poor diet and physical inactivity. Atrial fibrillation is a heart condition that is an important risk factor for stroke. The grant strongly aligns with the priorities and recommendations that will be outlined in the National Strategic Action Plan for Heart Disease and Stroke (the Action Plan). The Action Plan will be released in late 2019. The objective of the grant opportunity is to support the recommended activities from the Action Plan. This includes:  - implementing a nation-wide, targeted education and awareness campaign on the signs of stroke using the F.A.S.T message;  - producing F.A.S.T message awareness and education advertisements and distributing through various mediums, including television, radio, press and digital media;  - developing consumer resources on the F.A.S.T message in print and digital form; - hosting community and school outreach talks with trained volunteers, to educate and raise awareness of the F.A.S.T message; and - targeting priority populations, particularly rural, regional and remote communities, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and people of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds.