Effect of nursing intervention on improving awareness of high-risk patients about stroke prevention

Abstract Objective Stroke is perceived as a serious illness although it is preventable, and lifestyle alterations can be made to reduce its risk. Improvement of stroke care should be achieved through awareness of public, especially through high-risk group. Henceforth, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of nursing intervention on improving awareness of high-risk people about stroke prevention. Methods A quasi-experimental design was used to carry out this study, where a purposive sample of 80 adult patients at high risk for stroke were enrolled while they were attending the out-patient clinics of Zagazig University Hospitals for follow-up treatment; they were divided into two groups: case (40 patients) and control (40 patients). An interview questionnaire was used to assess patients’ knowledge regarding warning signs, risk factors, and immediate treatment; attitude; and their practice for prevention for stroke at pretest and posttest. Results The study revealed the poor level of knowledge, bad level of preventive behavior, and negative attitude regarding stroke prevention at pre-intervention. However, after intervention, the high-risk people had fair level of knowledge with moderate practice for stroke prevention and positive attitude, with statistically significant difference between pre–post intervention and between the case and control groups. Conclusions The study revealed that the nursing intervention seemed to change the knowledge, practice, and attitude of subjects regarding stroke prevention. This, in turn, implies that awareness of prevention of stroke and high-risk factor control could be important to reduce the burden of stroke in Egypt. Thus, further research on a larger scale is required to improve population knowledge and behavior for stroke prevention and control.