A community-based participatory approach to increase public knowledge of stroke among ethnic minorities in the northern mountains of Thailand

Abstract

This study examines a stroke education program about knowledge of stroke among community partners that aims to increase the public knowledge of stroke in ethnic minorities. A one-group pre-test/post-test experimental design based on a community-based participatory approach was used in four steps following established community collaboration, planned intervention, community partner recruitment and training, implementation, and evaluation. The study was conducted between September 1, 2019 and February 28, 2020 in Chiang Rai province of Thailand. Purposive sampling was used to select 50 community partners, and cluster random sampling was used to select 419 participants from ethnic minorities. The 50 community partners already trained by researchers in the stroke education program proffered their knowledge of stroke to the ethnic minorities over a period of 1 month. A stroke knowledge questionnaire was used to test stroke knowledge among ethnic minorities before intervention (baseline) and 1 month later (post-intervention). At post-intervention, 60.6% of ethnic minorities could correctly recall more than 3 warning signs of stroke, while 51.3% correctly identified more than 3 risk factors for stroke. The score differed among 159 participants who could not speak Thai pre-intervention (mean=0.03, SD=0.39) and post-intervention (mean=7.52, SD=1.33). There were significant differences in pre-intervention and post-intervention overall stroke knowledge scores of 4 major ethnic groups (mean 0.57, SD=1.63 versus mean 7.62, SD=1.39; t=−67.38, p<.001). The stroke educational program based on community-based participatory research can increase public stroke knowledge and help to overcome cultural and language barriers in ethnic minorities.