ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Neurol.
Sec. Stroke
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1608381
Improving stroke awareness through a culturally adapted audiovisual intervention in the United Arab Emirates
Provisionally accepted
Michelle Cherfane1,2,3
Jihan Safwan3,4*
Chadia Haddad1,3,5,6
Hala Sacre3,7
Pascale Salameh1,3,8,9Rawan Elkerenawy2Tala Abou El Kheir2Mariam Al Nuaimi2Leen Abou Mattar2Hassan Hosseini3
Fouad Sakr3,4
Katia Iskandar3,4,8- 1Gilbert and Rose-Mary Chagoury School of Medicine, Lebanese American Univeristy, Byblos, Lebanon
- 2College of Health Sciences, Abu Dhabi University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- 3Institut National de Santé Publique, d’Épidémiologie Clinique et de Toxicologie (INSPECT-LB), Beirut, Lebanon
- 4Lebanese International University, Beirut, Lebanon
- 5Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross, Beirut, Lebanon
- 6Modern University for Business and Science, Beirut, Lebanon
- 7Order of Pharmacists of Lebanon, Beirut, Lebanon
- 8Faculty of Pharmacy, Lebanese University, Hadat, Lebanon
- 9School of Medicine, University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus
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Objectives: This study evaluates the effectiveness of a brief, culturally tailored educational video in improving stroke-related knowledge among residents of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).: A pre-post intervention study was conducted with 407 UAE residents aged 25 years and older. Participants viewed a 3-minute educational video addressing stroke symptoms, risk factors, and preventive strategies. Stroke knowledge was measured using a structured questionnaire immediately before and after the video. Statistical analyses included paired t-tests, repeated measures ANOVA, and linear regression models. Results: Stroke knowledge significantly increased following the intervention (mean score: 20.80 pre-test to 23.53 post-test; p<0.001), with notable improvements in identifying symptoms and risk factors. Regression analyses indicated that female gender, higher education, and healthy lifestyle practices positively influenced knowledge gains, whereas older age was associated with smaller improvements. Conclusions: A brief, culturally relevant audiovisual intervention effectively enhances strokerelated knowledge. Such scalable educational tools should be integrated into global public health strategies to promote earlier stroke recognition and intervention.
Keywords: Stroke-related knowledge, audiovisual intervention, Health Literacy, public health education, United Arab Emirates
Received: 08 Apr 2025; Accepted: 04 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Cherfane, Safwan, Haddad, Sacre, Salameh, Elkerenawy, Abou El Kheir, Al Nuaimi, Abou Mattar, Hosseini, Sakr and Iskandar. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jihan Safwan, Lebanese International University, Beirut, Lebanon
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