Stroke Risk Screening Scales (SRSS): Identification of Domain and Item Generation

Stroke is a principal cause of mortality and disability in Thailand and globally. Early and comprehensive risk identification would be critical to identify people at high risk for stroke. Therefore, a comprehensive stroke risk screening tool is needed to assess all possible stroke risks and potential at-risk populations. In the future, such an instrument would benefit early detection and stroke prevention planning.

The objective of the Stroke Risk Screening Scales (SRSS) development is to identify the domains and generating appropriate questions for the new SRSS.

Using deductive methods suggested by Godfred Boateng and colleagues (2018), the domains were classified based on the existing literature. The questions were generated based on a comprehensive analysis of existing stroke risk screening scales and their representativeness of each domain. Five existing stroke risk screening tools including 1) the Stroke Riskometer^TM, 2) the Framingham 10-Year Risk Score, 3) the Stroke Risk Screening Tool (The Department of Disease Control of Thailand), 4) the My Risk Stroke Calculator, and 5) QStroke were included and identified.

Overall, 18 domains were included, and each domain was represented with at least one or more questions. Eight domains (44.44 %) are consisting of a dichotomous question alone, another eight domains (44.44 %) consist of multiple questions, which combined between dichotomous, categorical, or fill-in-the-blank questions, one domain (5.55 %) consists of a fill-in-the-blank question, and another one (5.55 %) include only one categorical question.

Developing a comprehensive tool to be used for stroke risk screening by extending the knowledge of stroke, stroke risk factors, and the best practice for tool development is necessitated for further practical stroke prevention planning.