Background: Awareness of stroke, especially the risk factors, warning signs and response to stroke is important in the control of the disease. The aim of the study was to evaluate stroke awareness, the risk factors and warning signs, among the first and second year physiotherapy students.
Methodology: The study was conducted among 150 students of first and second year physiotherapy students using a structured opened ended stroke awareness questionnaire. The study was conducted after taking a written consent from the subjects.
Results: Only 33% of the subjects correctly defined stroke as circulation problem in the brain .21% of the subjects were not familiar with the risk factors of the stroke. 22% were able to identify high blood pressure as a risk factor. 33% of the population denied the knowledge of warning signs. The subjects were not familiar with the disabilities / impairments following stroke.
Conclusion: Though stroke is perceived as a serious and preventable disease, awareness of the risk factors and warning signs is sub-optimal. This indicates that community-based education programs to increase public awareness of stroke could contribute to decreasing the risk of stroke and to increasing the speed of hospital presentation after stroke onset.
Impact Factor
2022: 6.012
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