Prevalence of Stroke Risk Levels, Perceptions, and Management of Warning Signs among Patients at Risk of Stroke and Their Families

Abstract

This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the prevalence of stroke risk levels, the perception of risk level, and the perception and management of stroke warning signs among at-risk patients and their families, and to compare the differences between these two groups. The samples consisted of 281 pairs of patients with diabetes mellitus and/or hypertension, who are considered at-risk for stroke, and their family members. Data were collected using a set of questionnaires including a demographic data form, a stroke risk assessment form, a risk perception questionnaire, and a questionnaire on the perception and management of stroke warning signs. Data were analyzed using frequencies, percentages, the McNemar’s test and paired t-test for comparing group differences.

The results showed the following: 1) The prevalence of stroke risk levels among at-risk patients was mainly at the moderate risk level (10% to less than 20%) at 38.43%, followed by the high-risk level (20% to less than 30%) at 27.40%; 2) both at-risk patients and their family members perceived their risk level as “unknown/uncertain” (53.38% and 48.40%, respectively). The accuracy of risk perception across different risk levels showed no significant difference (p>0.05); and 3) the comparisons of the total mean scores between caregivers and patients revealed that the caregivers had significantly higher total mean scores (80.02±10.06) than the patients (77.80±11.50). The mean difference between the groups was 2.21 (95% CI [0.56,3.87]), which was statistically significant (t (280) = 2.63, p=0.009).