Nemade Dipali, Beckett Mitzi, Nolte Justin, Shivkumar Vikram
Neurology, Marshall University School of Medicine, Huntington, USA.
Neurology, Cabell Huntington Hospital, Huntington, USA.
Cureus. 2020 Dec 3;12(12):e11884. doi: 10.7759/cureus.11884.
Stroke is the third leading cause of death and the major cause of long-term disability in the United States. Timely recognition of symptoms is critical. Family members are crucial in recognizing stroke symptoms since <5% patients can call Emergency Medical Services themselves due to inability to speak or dial the phone. This might be of significance, especially, in family units where children have frequent contact with multiple generations. This study was undertaken to assess and improve the knowledge about stroke amongst children.
A community-based interventional study was conducted among 305 kids ranging from second to eighth grade. A pre-test questionnaire was administered and later health education regarding stroke was imparted using audiovisual aids. Post-test was done to assess the impact of stroke education. Components of education included were: 1) What is stroke? 2) FAST mnemonic. 3) Time sensitive treatment. 4) Risk factors for stroke 5) How can they help? 6) Whom to call and where to go? The data was compiled and analyzed using Chi square test.
There was a significant lack of knowledge in the pretest groups. The post-test showed statistically significant improvement in all the tested components irrespective of age or grade (p<0.001).
Targeting the younger generation for stroke education is one way to improve community knowledge of stroke symptoms thus increasing the chances that the stroke patient may receive acute stroke therapy. Children can also be used as a conduit to transmit educational information to parents and other family members thus further raising awareness.
在美国，中风是第三大死因和长期残疾的主要原因。及时识别症状至关重要。家庭成员在识别中风症状方面至关重要，因为由于无法说话或拨打电话，只有不到5%的患者能够自行呼叫紧急医疗服务。这一点可能具有重要意义，尤其是在儿童与多代人频繁接触的家庭单位中。本研究旨在评估和提高儿童对中风的认识。
在305名二至八年级的儿童中开展了一项基于社区的干预性研究。进行了一项预测试问卷，随后使用视听辅助工具进行了关于中风的健康教育。进行了后测试以评估中风教育的效果。教育内容包括：1）什么是中风？2）FAST记忆法。3）时间敏感型治疗。4）中风的危险因素5）他们如何提供帮助？6）该呼叫谁以及去哪里？使用卡方检验对数据进行整理和分析。
预测试组存在明显的知识欠缺。后测试显示，无论年龄或年级如何，所有测试内容在统计学上都有显著改善（p<0.001）。
针对年轻一代进行中风教育是提高社区对中风症状认识的一种方式，从而增加中风患者接受急性中风治疗的机会。儿童也可以作为向父母和其他家庭成员传递教育信息的渠道，从而进一步提高认识。
