Knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of stroke: a cross-sectional survey in rural and urban Uganda

Abstract

BackgroundInformation regarding the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases such as stroke is largely unknown among the vulnerable communities. This analysis, which is part of a larger U.S. National Institute of Heath-funded Medical Education Partnership Initiative neurological disorder survey, assessed community knowledge and attitudes on stroke and stroke risk factors.MethodsA population cross-sectional survey was conducted in urban and rural Mukono, district, central Uganda. Through the systematic sampling method, data were gathered from 377 adult participants who were interviewed about selected aspects of stroke knowledge, attitudes and perception using a pretested structured questionnaire.ResultsA total of 377 participants were enrolled (47 % urban). The leading risk factors identified by the participants were stress (36.6 %) and hypertension (28.9 %) respectively. None of the study participants identified cigarette smoking as a stroke risk factor. Seventy six percent of the participants did not recognize stroke as a disease of the brain.ConclusionStroke knowledge is poor in both rural and urban Uganda. Tailored public health approaches that improve stroke awareness, knowledge and self management approaches are urgently needed to develop effective preventive measures and community response to stroke.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13104-015-1820-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Public Knowledge of Risk Factors and Warning Signs for Cardiovascular Disease Among Young and Middle-Aged Adults in Rural Tanzania

“…More than half (51.4%) of the participants identi ed ve or more risk factors. Similar to our ndings, other community based studies have also reported low level of knowledge of risk factors for CVDs in the general population [13][14][15]37]. On the contrary, high knowledge has been reported among studies that focused on special populations like health care providers [41,42], secondary school teachers [23] and among staff of tertiary institution [43], meaning that education level has implication on health-related knowledge.…”

“…Our ndings of higher CVD knowledge among men differs from other studies which reported higher CVD knowledge among females [40,51]. Nonetheless, several other studies have reported insigni cant gender differences in CVD knowledge [15,[52][53][54]. Higher CVD knowledge in women has been attributed to less working time among women which gives them more leisure time to watch and listen to mass media such as radio, television and newspaper [40].…”

Awareness and Attitude Towards Stroke and Its Prevention Among Hypertensive and Non-Hypertensive People

“…The sample size of the study was 377. No one identifies cigarette smoking as a risk factor of stroke and most of the subjects (77%) did not know about the organ affected by stroke [19]. The present study conducted to assess the awareness and attitude of hypertensive and non-hypertensive regarding stroke and its prevention among selected ward of Nayarambalam Panchayat, Ernakulam, and give them adequate teaching in future it is needed.…”

Challenges of the Management of Stroke in Sub Saharan Africa: Evaluating Awareness, Access and Action

“…For example, in Ghana, traditional healers have been incorporated as providers into their National Healthcare Delivery System [38]. Traditional and faith healers are often sought after to care for diabetes [39], hypertension [40] or adverse CVD outcomes such as stroke [41].…”