Knowledge attitude and practice on acute stroke in an urban community: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Stroke remains to be one of the top leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the Philippines despite the increasing number of Acute Stroke Ready Hospitals. Identifying the community’s knowledge gaps, current attitude and practices towards the disease will help develop targeted programs for stroke prevention and better treatment. Objective: We aimed to assess the baseline knowledge and current attitude and practice towards stroke among residents in an urban community in Metro Manila. Methods: A cross-sectional face to face survey using an adapted study on Stroke Recognition Questionnaire (SRQ) tool was done among residents of an urban community for assessment of their knowledge, attitude, and practice towards stroke. Results: The results showed that the majority of the respondents had poor knowledge about stroke (n=223; 59.79%). Specifically, most of them were not familiar with the warning signs of stroke (n=303; 81.23%), risk factors (n=166; 44.50%) and available treatment (n= 150; 40.21%). Many of the respondents, however, manifested a good attitude towards stroke prevention such as regular intake of medications (n=309, 82.84%), doctor consultations (n=301, 80.70%), and lifestyle changes (n=198, 53.08%). Majority of the respondents (n=229; 61.39%) would advise seeking medical attention for stroke. A significant statistical correlation between stroke knowledge and the level of educational attainment (p-value <0.001). Conclusion: Effective education interventions should be adopted and used for primary stroke prevention programs in the community