Knowledge, Attitude and Practice toward Stroke among Adolescents and Adults in Enugu Metropolis

Background: Globalization and westernization have a great effect on developing countries and one of these effects is lifestyle modification. With the increase of unhealthy lifestyles in citizens of these developing countries, stroke which used to be an uncommon ailment has been on the rise and is now one of the most commonly encountered neurological emergencies in Tertiary Care hospitals. This study is structured to assess the baseline knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding stroke risk factors, its symptoms, treatment, and information resources in the Enugu metropolis population. Materials and Methods: A community-based physical questionnaire survey was conducted in the Enugu metropolis. A total of 463 participants between 18 and 65 years of age were randomly selected from the populace. All the participants filled out the 14 questions about different aspects of stroke. SPSS (version 22) was used for data analysis. Results: less than half of the participants (48.6%) had adequate knowledge about stroke being a brain condition. 71.1% identified hypertension as the common risk factor for stroke while about 23.1% believe the cause to be either spiritual or charm. 68.7% disagreed that stroke has been inheritable or that it runs in the family, while about 65.2% believe orthodox treatment is the best treatment option for stroke. The commonest sources of information on stroke and its treatment were through health workers (28.0%) and friends (27.6%). Conclusion: The study showed a gap in knowledge among the population of Enugu city including the health workers on stroke and the associated risk factors. This reflects the necessity for awareness intervention through public professional stroke education campaigns in Enugu. Various campaign awareness bodies on stroke should be encouraged as this will possibly promote the level of the population’s knowledge about stroke and help improve a healthier lifestyle for the population. Keywords: Community-based, Awareness, Stroke, Westernization, Hypertension