Effects of Community-based Stroke Education and Advocacy on the Time from Stroke Onset to Hospital Arrival in Ischemic Stroke Patients

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: We assessed the effects of stroke community-based education and advocacy on the time from stroke onset to hospital arrival in ischemic stroke patients. METHODS: Stroke community-based education and advocacy were implemented between May 2014 and December 2014 in Iksan, Jeollabukdo. The extent of ambulance utilization, time from stroke onset to hospital arrival, and proportions of arrivals within certain golden-time windows were compared with those of patients admitted from May to December 2013 (before vs. after intervention). RESULTS: The demographic and clinical characteristics did not differ significantly between the patients admitted in 2013 and 2014, nor did the proportion of ambulance utilization (33.6% and 39.4%, respectively; p=0.195). The median time from stroke onset to hospital arrival changed from 582 min in 2013 to 367 min in 2014, although not statistically significant (p=0.062). The proportion of hospital arrivals within 3 hours from stroke onset increased significantly from 28.5% in 2013 to 42.3% in 2014 (p=0.002). CONCLUSIONS: A comprehensive community-based stroke intervention may increase the probability of hospital arrival within the golden-time window, thereby leading to a better prognosis.