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How effective are "community" stroke screening programs at improving stroke knowledge and prevention practices?
Christi Diane DeLemos1, Richard Presley Atkinson, Susan Louise Croopnick
1Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento, Calif., USA.
Background And Purpose:
Community stroke screening is a commonly used prevention strategy to identify and educate those at risk. Although the goal of this approach is to reduce the overall occurrence of stroke, its long-term benefit remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine whether attendance of a stroke screening changes knowledge or prevention practices in persons at risk for stroke 3 months later.
Methods:
A stroke screening event was held following the National Stroke Association guidelines, with health screening, counseling, and education. Knowledge about stroke was measured by a questionnaire before and after the event. At 3 months, attendees identified at risk for stroke were contacted by telephone to determine their retained knowledge and any specific actions taken as a result of the health counseling.
Results:
At 3 months, 78 persons were contacted. Knowledge of stroke warning signs increased from 59% to 94% after screening but decreased to 77% at 3 months. At 3 months, 73% had done nothing to change their health practices.
Conclusions:
Community stroke screening has modest effects on health behavior, knowledge of stroke risk factors, and warning signs.