Document Type
Article
Department
Community Health Sciences
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To assess the level of awareness in the general public on risk factors, symptomatology and immediate treatment of stroke.METHOD: A cross sectional study was conducted in a sample of subjects visiting a tertiary care university hospital by means of a self-designed questionnaire. The study period extended between May and June, 2007.RESULTS: A total of 398 individuals were surveyed. Hypertension (69.1%) and stress (55.8%) were identified as two major risk factors for stroke. Among them 50.8% identified "Brain" as the principal organ involved in stroke out of which 78.2% of the response came from people whose level of education was intermediate-and-above. Around 13% of the study respondents did not know of any risk factor for stroke, while 11.6% of the study respondents didn't know about the alarming signs of stroke. The most frequent response (26.16%) to immediate management of stroke was to take the individual to Emergency Department/hospital. In all 56% reported that basic information about stroke was given to them by friend/relative.CONCLUSIONS: The overall awareness of the study population regarding stroke was shown to be inadequate by this study. Knowledge was significantly greater in participants of younger age and a higher level of education.
Publication (Name of Journal)
Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association
Recommended Citation
Aly, Z.,
Abbas, K.,
Kazim, S.,
Taj, F.,
Aziz, F.,
Irfan, A.,
Sheikh, R.,
Shakir, M.,
Javed, S.,
Fatmi, Z.
(2009). Awareness of stroke risk factors, signs and treatment in a Pakistani population. Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 59(7), 495-9.
Available at:
https://ecommons.aku.edu/pakistan_fhs_mc_chs_chs/20