A CROSS SECTIONAL SURVEY ON AWARENESS ABOUT STROKE AMONG STROKE PATIENTS AND THEIR BYSTANDERS FROM A TERTIARY CARE CENTRE, KERALA

Authors

  • Vivek K. Nambiar Associate Professor, Department of Stroke Medicine, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Kochi, Kerala
  • Karthika Rani Clinical Research Coordinator, Department of Stroke Medicine, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Kochi, Kerala,682041
  • Remya Sudevan Clinical Epidemiologist, Department of Health Sciences Research, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Kochi, Kerala,682041
  • Abish Sudhakar Statistician, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Kochi, Kerala,682041

Keywords:

Stroke awareness, Risk factors of stroke, Stroke and awareness, Patients and by standers awareness about stroke, stroke symptoms and risk factors, stroke knowledge

Abstract

Background

Stroke is the leading cause of death and functional impairment accounting a major burden of global non-communicable diseases (1, 2). The knowledge about stroke, risk factors and warning signs among the patients and bystanders is an unexplored area (1). The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of stroke risk factors and warning signs among patients and bystanders.

 

Materials and methods

Patients diagnosed with current andrecurrent stroke of age > 18 years were recruited from in-patient units of stroke medicine department at Amrita institute of medical science and research centre from October 2020 to April 2021.Those patients with sufficient communicative ability were included in the survey and those with severe aphasia, limiting the comprehension were excluded from the survey. A structured closed-ended study questionnaire was used to collect the data regarding the baseline characteristics and to assess the knowledge on stroke among the participants (patients and bystanders). Participants were interviewed to answer questions regarding the demographic characteristics, risk factors, awareness about stroke and its warning signs by the research personal. The data were analysed using SPSS version 21.

 

Results

A total of 91 patients participated in the survey. The mean age of the study population was 60.73 (13.38) years. The proportion of males was 61.5%.Patients from rural places (64.8%) was more compared to urban (34.1%). Majority of the patients (85.7%) could not identify that they have been hit with stroke. The most commonly recognized risk factors were hypertension (78%), diabetes (47.3%), dyslipidemia(38.5%)followed by cardiovascular diseases(33.3%). Regarding stroke warning signs, the most commonly recognized warning signs were upper and lower limb weakness(34.1%),  both upper and lower limb weakness with deviation of mouth (17.6%), both upper and lower limb weakness ,deviation of mouthand slurring of speech (7.7%). Only 12.1% bystanders were aware about the signs of stroke.

 

Conclusion

The results from the current survey showed that the general awareness of stroke is still unsatisfactory among stroke patients and bystanders. The healthcare provider should provide structured interventions to increase awareness and knowledge about stroke in the public.

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Additional Files

Published

15-04-2022

How to Cite

Vivek K. Nambiar, Karthika Rani, Remya Sudevan, & Abish Sudhakar. (2022). A CROSS SECTIONAL SURVEY ON AWARENESS ABOUT STROKE AMONG STROKE PATIENTS AND THEIR BYSTANDERS FROM A TERTIARY CARE CENTRE, KERALA. International Education and Research Journal (IERJ), 8(4). Retrieved from https://ierj.in/journal/index.php/ierj/article/view/2444