Stroke-related knowledge and attitudes among university students in Northeast Nigeria

ABSTRACT

te public knowledge of stroke, but the impact in Nigeria is notwell known. This study assessed stroke-related knowledge andattitudes among university students in Nigeria, where health stud-ies are parts of college curricula. This was a cross-sectional studyof students at three universities in Northeast Nigeria. Using ques-tionnaire survey, we assessed biographical data and participantknowledge of the primary site, warning signs and risk factors ofstroke. Responses were graded on a knowledge score, where ≥2.5points indicated adequate knowledge. Data were analyzed with theSPSS version 21 program. We studied 824 participants, 67.1%males. Males were older than females (mean age ± SD 27.42±5.58years versus 26.27±5.31 years; P = 0.009; 95% CI 0.29 ­ 1.99)and 14.5% participants had stroke lectures during general studies.Major sources of stroke knowledge were personal discussions(44.6%) and internet websites (24.5%). Only 15.7% participantscorrectly identified the brain as the primary site of stroke, whileknowledge of one or more stroke warning signs and risk factorswere noted in 42.2% and 49.6%, respectively. Mean knowledgescore was 1.08 ± 0.99. Adequate knowledge of stroke was noted in13.2% participants, and was higher in females (17.7% versus10.7%; P = 0.01). Logistic regression analysis showed significantassociations between adequate knowledge of stroke with femalesex (OR 1.8; 95% CI 1.2 ­ 2.8; P = 0.008) and a history of strokein close relatives (OR 1.7; 95% CI 1.1 ­ 2.6; P = 0.025) but notwith age, academic discipline or stroke lectures. University stu-dents in Northeast Nigeria have low knowledge of stroke, which isworse in males. Although health issues are taught at universities,little is taught on stroke, suggesting a need to prioritize strokeknowledge in the universities little is taught on stroke, suggeting a need to prioritize stroke knowlegde in the university curriculum .