A retrospective descriptive study on analyzing knowledge and attitudes of care towards prehospitalization care for Cerebrovascular accident patients.

Abstract

A Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA) is a neurological disorder of the CNS and has a higher risk of death or a permanent neurological sequel. The incidents of cardiovascular and neurological disease are skyrocketing in developing countries like India. Despite many efforts by the government and many public health activists and experts, it is still higher and may lead to permanent damage to the social structure of the families of patients. A non-experimental retrospective descriptive research design was adapted to find out the knowledge of the primary caretaker/s towards the prehospitalization care of CVA patients at Apollo Hospitals, Kakinada. A total of 203 caretakers were identified. Out of that, 170 participated in the study, 23 were lost to follow-up, and 10 refused to participate in the study. Data was collected using a structural knowledge questionnaire. 20 questions were asked to the patient’s relatives for their responses to assess the frequency percentage of knowledge and attitude of caretakers regarding the care of CVA. The Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics (including frequency count and percentage). The study findings revealed that 42.9% assumed that CVA is a bio-infection, and 51.1% believed that CVA primarily involves the heart. Regarding clinical presentation, 41.7% believe that CVA has sudden onset weakness, 40.5% believe that it has sudden onset headaches, and 42.9% are unable to identify that it has numbness in the hands. Finally, early identification and treatment are essential for every CVA patient to avoid devastating lifelong complications. Therefore, it is appropriate that the caretaker or close relative of the patient has knowledge enough to identify CVA.