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Study reveals low stroke awareness

A national survey shows that stroke is not recognised as a major awareness was high when participants were prompted with a
cause of death. It also reveals low-level awareness of stroke among list of possible responses. However, unprompted questioning
Pacific peoples. resulted in lower awareness of stroke risk factors.
A random sample of 400 adults participated in the national Only 30 percent of participants correctly identified two or
telephone survey. more stroke risk factors without any prompting. There was a
When asked to identify the most common cause of death, tenfold decrease in the proportion of people able to identify five
participants named heart disease (37 percent) and cancer (33 stroke risk factors, compared to prompted responses.
percent). Only 1.5 percent of those surveyed named stroke as a Having a university level education was associated with a 75
common cause of death. percent greater number of people identifying stroke risk factors
“The recognition of stroke as a common cause of death was when unprompted, compared to those with up to high school
low, well below heart disease and cancer. This may be due to low level of education.
level awareness of stroke as a cause of death in general, and to the Participants from middle income households were almost
higher profile of heart disease and cancer in the media, screening twice as likely to correctly identify stroke risk factors, compared
and fundraising campaigns,” says Associate Professor Rita to low income households.
Krishnamurthi, Deputy Director of the National Institute of Stroke
and Applied Neurosciences at AUT.
“Our findings suggest that public health messages on the
importance of modifiable stroke risk factors need to be significantly
enhanced, particularly around blood pressure control for stroke
prevention.”
Associate Professor Krishnamurthi is the lead author of the study,
Community Knowledge and Awareness of Stroke in New Zealand,
published in the Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases.
Funding was provided by Brain Research New Zealand.
The researchers found that being more educated and having a
higher income are associated with higher stroke awareness. Personal
experience of stroke also contributed to better knowledge and
awareness overall.
This is the first national stroke awareness survey with an ethically
stratified sample – almost equal representation of New Zealand’s
four major ethnic groups; European, Māori, and Pacific peoples (25-
33 percent); and Asian (14 percent).
The findings reveal that Pacific peoples had the lowest level of
stroke awareness. Pacific peoples identified fewer stroke symptoms
and were 58 percent less likely to correctly identify stroke risk factors.
“Low stroke awareness, especially among Pacific peoples, needs
to be addressed urgently. This is particularly important given the
disproportionately high burden of stroke among Māori and Pacific
peoples,” says Associate Professor Krishnamurthi.
Low functional health literacy is also associated with low stroke
awareness, and English is commonly a second language among
Pacific and Asian peoples.
“We need to develop language-specific, culturally tailored
material and methods of delivering information to these
communities. Training key staff in community groups to
help educate members has the potential to increase access
to and uptake of stroke information.”
According to a previous NISAN study, the incidence
of stroke among Māori and Pacific peoples was
30-60 percent higher than Europeans, and they
suffered strokes from a significantly younger age.
The same study also showed that the
mortality rate of stroke among Pacific peoples
was almost double that of Europeans. And,
the prevalence of stroke risk factors, such as
diabetes and smoking, was almost threefold
higher among Māori and Pacific peoples,
compared to Europeans.
The national survey was conducted in
the absence of any major stroke awareness
campaigns, allowing for testing of baseline
awareness. It also compared two methods
of questioning, which yielded very
Associate Professor Rita Krishnamurthi, Deputy
different results. Director of the National Institute of Stroke and
Researchers found that stroke Applied Neurosciences at AUT.
18 Islands Business, November 2020