'BeAWARE': supporting non-clinical staff within general practice to promptly identify patients presenting with warning signs of heart attack or stroke
Poulter, C.; Stewart, M.; Fitzpatrick, C.; Keech, W.; Stavreski, B.; Grenfell, R.
Australian Family Physician 43(6): 394-398
2014
ISSN/ISBN: 0300-8495 PMID: 24897991 Document Number: 673242
General practice requires systems to deal with patients presenting with urgent needs. BeAWARE was developed to support non-clinical staff to promptly identify patients with symptoms of heart attack or stroke. Data were collected from May 2012 to December 2012 on participants completing the BeAWARE learning module, including pre- and post-assessments on knowledge, confidence and intended action. From May 2012 to December 2012, 1865 participants completed the module. There were significant increases in recall of heart attack and stroke symptoms among non-clinical participants, including chest tightness (23.4-48.7%, P DISCUSSION: BeAWARE fulfils a practice gap in patient safety by improving non-clinical staff's knowledge, confidence and intended action in response to patients presenting with heart attack or stroke warning signs.