Awareness of Being at Risk of Stroke and Its Determinant Factors among Hypertensive Patients in Banyumas, Indonesia

Abstract

Background. The global burden of stroke is still high, particularly in developing countries, with hypertension serving as the main risk factor. The awareness of stroke among hypertensive patients is crucial for stroke prevention. This study was aimed at identifying the awareness of being at risk of stroke and its determinant factors among hypertensive patients in Banyumas, Indonesia. Methods. This was a cross-sectional study conducted in Primary Health Centers (PHCs) in Banyumas Regency, Indonesia, from April to August 2019. A simple random sampling technique was used to select the representatives’ PHCs. Hypertensive patients who came regularly to the PHCs were consecutively recruited. Data were collected through a self-reported questionnaire and medical records. The main outcome was the level of participants’ awareness of being at risk of stroke. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to measure determinant factors associated with the level of awareness. Results. Out of 457 patients investigated, 77.46% had a low level of awareness. Low knowledge of hypertension, low income, and no history of previous stroke were associated with a low-level of awareness (odds ratio (OR) 1.942, 95% CI 1.195-3.158, p 0.007; OR 2.321, 95% CI 1.326-4.064, p 0.003; and OR 6.033, 95% CI 2.450-14.858, p < 0.001 , respectively). Conclusion. Majority of hypertensive patients were unaware of being at risk of stroke. Knowledge of hypertension, income, and history of previous stroke are factors that may influence the awareness of being at risk of stroke among them. This emphasizes the need to provide better campaigns and education programs to raise the awareness of stroke in a community setting, particularly for the population at risk.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Hypertensive Patients Towards Stroke Prevention Among Rural Population in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Our study result is also similar to most previous international studies that indicated the level of knowledge and the basic understanding of risk factors and warning signs of stroke were inadequate among people with high blood pressure (Bhat et al, 2021; Houessou et al, 2021; Melak et al, 2021). For example, a study conducted in Indonesia found that the majority of patients with high blood pressure in the study were unaware of the risk of stroke (Setyopranoto et al, 2022). In contrast, our result is inconsistent with the studies conducted in Cameroon among the general public, which found high knowledge about stroke risk factors and warning symptoms (Nansseu et al, 2017).…”

Awareness of stroke, its signs, and risk factors: A cross‐sectional population‐based survey in Ghana

“…Similar to the findings of this study, Rasheed and Adegbenro 8 also documented a low awareness of stroke risk factors in Nigeria following their research. A similar study in Indonesia also reported low level of awareness of the risk factors of stroke 29 . The similarity may be due to shared socio‐demographic factors and health education between the two countries.…”

“…A similar study in Indonesia also reported low level of awareness of the risk factors of stroke. 29 The similarity may be due to shared socio‐demographic factors and health education between the two countries. Contrary to this, a higher percentage of individuals had a good level of awareness about the risk factors of stroke after the study in Turkey.…”