Cooperative strategies to develop effective stroke and heart attack awareness messages in rural american Indian communities, 2009-2010.

Introduction: National initiatives to improve the recognition of heart attack and stroke warning signs have encouraged symptomatic people to seek early treatment, but few have shown significant effects in rural American Indian (AI) communities.

Methods: During 2009 and 2010, the Montana Cardiovascular Health Program, in collaboration with 2 tribal health departments, developed and conducted culturally specific public awareness campaigns for signs and symptoms of heart attack and stroke via local media. Telephone surveys were conducted before and after each campaign to evaluate the effectiveness of the campaigns.