Knowledge regarding the signs, symptoms, and risk factors associated with stroke in medical and nonmedical personnel

Abstract

Introduction: Stroke was the second-leading global cause of death accounting for 11.8% of total deaths worldwide and a leading cause of disability. Stroke was the leading cause of death in Indonesia accounting for 21.1% of them. Knowledge is essential for the prevention of stroke and minimizing delay in receiving proper treatment. Methods: This was a cross-sectional observational study using a questionnaire consisting of questions about signs, symptoms, and risk factors for stroke in the Indonesian Language with a minimal amount of technical jargon. There were 113 respondents, 49 has a medical background (11 was medical doctors) and 64 was from a nonmedical background. Results: Majority of the nonmedical personnel knew that hemiparesis is a symptom of stroke, but only a third knew that hemihypesthesia is one of the symptoms. Approximately half knew that dysarthria and uneven face is a symptom of stroke. Only a few knew that sudden loss of vision is a symptom of stroke. Hypertension and hypercholesterolemia were the two most popular risk factors among nonmedical personnel, other risk factors were only known to <40% of the respondents. After comparing the results between medical and nonmedical personnel, medical personnel was more confident about their knowledge (P < 0.001). The difference was also statistically significant in hemihypesthesia (P = 0.029) and sudden loss of vision (P = 0.032). The difference was statistically significant when assessing several risk factors such as arrhythmia (P = 0.004), smoking (P = 0.004), hypertension (P = 0.001), diabetes (P < 0.001), and atrial fibrillation (P < 0.001). Disappointingly, both groups performed poorly in recognizing menopause as a risk factor. Conclusion: The knowledge about the symptoms and signs of stroke other than hemiparesis was poor in nonmedical personnel. Medical personnel was only slightly better than nonmedical personnel. This is a wake-up call to emphasize the importance of stroke, its prevention and early recognition.

Keywords

• General population
• knowledge
• risk factors
• stroke
• symptoms