Public knowledge and awareness of stroke among adult population in Taif city, Saudi Arabia

Objectives: To evaluate the knowledge and awareness of stroke in adult population in Taif, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and to address the association between several sociodemographic variables of participants and their knowledge regarding stroke.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among adult residents in Taif, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, during the period of December, 2020 to February, 2021 using an online questionnaire.

Results: Our study included 3456 participants (43.6% males, 56.4% females). Analysis showed that 61.7% of the participants were aware of stroke. Participants who were 15-39 years-old had good knowledge. Male participants had better knowledge than females. The most identified risk factor was ‘unhealthy lifestyle’ (84.5%) and the least identified one was ‘epilepsy’ (34.8%). The most identified symptom was ‘slurred speech’ (57.5%), and the least identified one was ‘dizziness’ (36.2%). Approximately 86.6% of the participants agreed that stroke was a medical emergency. A total of 41.5% of the participants agreed that stroke was treatable and 42.6% agreed that stroke was a preventable disease.

Conclusion: Although the participants recognize that stroke is a medical emergency and that early intervention is crucial, the obtained results show that there is a large gap in the knowledge of the warning signs and symptoms of stroke. Increasing community awareness about these warnings may affect how quickly the patient is treated.