General awareness of stroke in the Czech Republic

OBJECTIVE: The main goal of the study was to find out the general public's awareness of stroke, the relations between the awareness of stroke and socio-demographic factors, and awareness of stroke and experience of stroke. METHODS: The combination of a non-standardized questionnaire on the stroke prevention and a standardized questionnaire on the identification of the general health literacy (HLSQ-16) was used. The sample was chosen using a quota choice. The sample structure corresponded with the composition of the Czech population with regard to regions, sex and age. These features were determined as representative. The sample consisted of 1,004 respondents. RESULTS: The general awareness of stroke is high in the Czech Republic. Most of the respondents (97.2%) stated that they had ever heard of stroke. This basic awareness is influenced by the sex and marital status of the respondents. Almost one half (42.2%) of the general public would welcome more information on stroke. Women showed significantly higher interest in the information than men. Significantly higher interest could be seen in elderly respondents while younger respondents said significantly more frequently that they were not interested in the information. Married respondents showed a significantly higher degree of awareness. Rural respondents expressed higher interest in the information. The interest in the information dropped with higher education. The interest was significantly influenced by the respondents' sex, place of residence, marital status, and education. Almost 1/4 (24.3%) of respondents mentioned stroke incidence in their families. Our study proved that this incidence significantly varied in dependence on the respondents' sex, age, marital status and education. Further questions were focused on the sources of information on stroke. The most important sources include internet, which was named by nearly one half (48.6%) of respondents, and it was found that women could use the sources of information more frequently than men. Women used all sources of information on stroke (internet, television, families, GPs) more than men. CONCLUSION: The Czech respondents' interest in stroke is significantly influenced by their sex, age, place of residence, marital status, and the respondents' education. The findings play a role in the focus on preventive activities in this area. It is necessary to implement the general public education not only in general practitioners' offices but also in mass media in order to improve the awareness of stroke.