Assessment of stroke awareness among public servants in a study population in Nigeria

Abstract

This study aimed at assessing the degree of awareness of stroke among the public servants in Benin City, Edo State. Specific objectives included assessment of knowledge of the definition; signs and symptoms; risk factors; prevention and treatment of stroke. A cross-sectional study involving public servants using a self-administered questionnaire. The respondents were randomly selected from the Edo state civil service. The questionnairewas subdivided into Sociodemographic and questions of multiple choices to identify the definition of stroke, signs and symptoms and the risk factors of stroke. Data analysis was done using the SPSS Software version 16 for frequencies, percentages, Chi square and logistic regression. A level of significance of 0.05 was applied. Ethical considerations were observed. This study reported a 96.2% response rate, 53.8% were citizens of Edo State, and only 17% were older than 47 years. Male respondents accounted for 53% of the sample. More than 56% had educational qualification higher than secondary school. Less than 1% experienced a previous stroke, and a relatively high proportion (84.1%) knew someone who suffered from stroke. The most recognized symptoms were speech problems and weakness/numbness of the arms/legs. About 35.5% knew that the brain is the organ involved in stroke while 89.9% acknowledged the fact that high blood pressure is the major risk factor of stroke. No independent variable had true effect on knowledge. We concluded from the study that there are serious gaps in knowledge regarding stroke; an educational program on stroke in this State will be beneficial.