Stroke education needs of African American women

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of African American women about stroke and examine their health information seeking practices outside of medical encounters.

An exploratory-descriptive qualitative study was conducted with 48 women of age 35 years and older recruited from four Black churches.

Data were collected during focus groups and analyzed with qualitative content analysis.

Most of what participants knew about stroke came from interaction with family members or acquaintances that had strokes rather than stroke campaigns or health providers. There was confusion about the multiple symptoms of stroke, and information about stroke symptoms may not provide meaningful symptom representations. Information about breast cancer was more readily available than information about stroke. The internet, other women, and television programs were main source of health information outside of medical encounters. There was uncertainty how to assess the trustworthiness of internet health sites.

The results suggest that culturally sensitive stroke education for African American women should include stories of women with stroke and provide experiential and visual depictions of stroke warning signs. Group forums, television, and web-based education may be acceptable ways to communicate stroke information to African American women.