AWARENESS OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS TOWARDS STROKES: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

Background: Mortality due to stroke is rising among Bangladeshi population and needs focused attention for prevention and early management of stroke. Baseline stroke knowledge in a targeted population is indispensable to promote the effective stroke education. We report the baseline knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of university students with respect to stroke from Bangladesh. Materials and Methods: A self-structured questionnaire survey regarding awareness about stroke was conducted among university students of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Descriptive statistics including Chi-square test was used, and selected variables were subjected to binary logistic regression. Results: Here response from 384 participants was collected. All of the students (100%) had heard or read about stroke, 4.9 % of the students had someone with stroke in their family, 40.4% of students had someone with stroke in their neighborhood, and 75.3% personally know someone with stroke. Stroke was identified as a brain disorder by 285 (74.2%) students. Most of the students 329 (85.7 %) would take a stroke patient to a hospital in an emergency, nearly one out of seven 55 (14.3 %) would sprinkle water over the face of a person having a stroke. Most students 335 (87.2 %) identified high blood pressure as a risk factor of a stroke followed by smoking 305 (79.4 %) and Alcohol consumption 255 (66.4 %). Several socio demographic factors found significantly associated with adequate knowledge on risk factors and warning signs. The binary logistic regression analysis showed that adequate knowledge on risk factor and warning symptoms are good predictors of response choosing to take a patient to a hospital. Conclusion: Though a few misconceptions persisted, awareness of university students of Dhaka city regarding stroke was satisfactory, and the students having adequate knowledge about the risk factors and warning symptoms were more likely to take stroke patients to a hospital.
Keywords: Awareness, attitude, knowledge, practice, stroke, students