awareness and attitude toward stroke in a population-based sample of iranian adults

abstract background and purpose : stroke is a leading cause of death and functional disability. while there have been major advances regarding the management of stroke, a significant proportion of people are still unaware of stroke-related symptoms and risk factors. this study was performed to assess the public awareness and attitude of stroke warning signs and risk factors among a sample of iranian population. methods: a total of 649 participants were randomly selected using systematic randomization from the list of telephone numbers obtained from the telephone directory. participants were asked to answer questions regarding demographic characteristics and their awareness and attitude about stroke warning signs as well as risk factors. results : mean age of subjects was 32±12.16 years. women constitute 56.39% of the study population. the most common risk factors for stroke identified by respondents were hypertension and history of stroke. loss of consciousness and vertigo and ataxia were the most correct response of participant about warning signs of stroke. multiple linear regressions showed that age (β=0.277, p<0.001), academic educational level (β=6.41, p =0.01), housewife (β=8.9, p<0.001), medical-care jobs (β=13.17, p=0.016) and previous information about stroke (β=18.71, p <0.001) were significant predictors of overall awareness of patients about stroke. conclusions: awareness and attitude of people about stroke, its risk factor and warning signs were good this study. awareness toward stroke can be associated with factors such as age, academic educational level, job and previous information about stroke. further studies are recommended to program public multimedia and health education in academies and colleges.