A cross-sectional population survey on stroke knowledge and attitudes in Greater Kampala, Uganda

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographic of adult study participants screened in greater Kampala (N = 440)

Demographic characteristics	N	Percentage	Median (Min, Max)
Age in years			45 (18, 91)
<25 years	24	5.5
25–34 years	68	15.5
35–44 years	31	7.1
>44 years	128	29.1
Not known	189	42.9
Gender
Female	321	73.0
Marital status
Married	195	44.3
Single-never married	58	13.2
Cohabiting	75	17.1
Divorced	5	1.1
Separated	65	14.8
Widowed	42	9.6
Religion
Catholic	133	30.2
Protestant	185	42.1
Muslim	69	15.7
Pentecostal	43	9.8
Other	10	2.3
Highest level of education attained
None	26	5.9
Primary	137	31.1
Secondary	226	51.4
Tertiary	51	11.6

Table 2. Stroke knowledge among individuals in greater Kampala (N = 440)

Stroke knowledge	N	Percentage
Stroke caused by sudden attack of brain (Yes)	228	51.8
Stroke is preventable (Yes)	249	56.6
Someone can have stroke more than once (Yes)	345	78.4
Stroke has effect to daily activities like driving, use of toilet and having a job (Yes)	436	99.1
Knows any risk factor for stroke (Yes)	426	96.8
Knows any warning sign for stroke (Yes)	396	90.0
Would participate in stroke prevention strategies	434	98.9
What do you believe causes stroke?
Hypertension	199	45.2
Stress	333	75.7
Bad diet	63	14.3
Fatty foods	62	14.1
High cholesterol	15	3.4
Obesity	14	3.2
Lack of exercise	33	7.5
Atherosclerosis	15	3.4
Alcohol	13	3.0
Inheritance	5	1.1
God’s will	8	1.8
Cigarette smoking	2	0.5
Witch craft	2	0.5
Don’t know	11	2.5
Planned response to an event of stroke
Go to hospital	393	89.3
Call general practioner/doctor	29	6.6
Visit community health center	10	2.3
Visit alternative health care providers (e.g. herbalist, traditional healer)	3	0.7
Invite a physiotherapist	2	0.5
Ask family members or relatives to help	7	1.6
Ask friend or neighbours for help	4	0.9
Self-medication	4	0.9
Combination of hospital and traditional treatments	3	0.7

Table 3. Factors associated with knowledge for warning signs of stroke among individuals in greater Kampala

		Knows 1 or more warning signs for stroke N (%)	Don’t know any warning sign for stroke N (%)	p
Demographics
Age in years	<25	17 (8.0)	7 (18.4)	0.276
	25–34	59 (27.7)	9 (23.7)
	35–44	27 (12.7)	4 (10.5)
	>45	110 (51.6)	18 (47.4)
Gender	Female	286 (74.5)	35 (62.5)	0.059
	Male	98 (25.5)	21 (37.5)
Marital status	Married	170 (44.3)	25 (44.6)	0.079
	Single	47 (12.2)	11 (19.6)
	Cohabiting	71 (18.5)	2 (3.6)
	Divorced	3 (0.8)	4 (7.1)
	Separated	57 (14.8)	8 (14.3)
	Widowed	36 (9.4)	6 (10.7)
Religion	Catholic	114 (29.7)	19 (33.9)	0.081
	Protestant	168 (43.8)	17 (30.4)
	Muslim	54 (14.1)	15 (26.8)
	Pentecostal	38 (9.9)	5 (8.9)
	Other	10 (2.6)	0 (0.0)
Highest level of education attained	None	22 (5.7)	4 (7.1)	0.691
	Primary	120 (31.3)	17 (30.4)
	Secondary	195 (50.8)	31 (55.4)
	Tertiary	47 (12.2)	4 (7.1)
Knowledge of stroke
Knows Organ (brain) affected by Stroke	Yes	203 (52.9)	25 (44.6)	0.250
	No	181 (47.1)	31 (55.4)
Stroke can be prevented if treated early	Yes	219 (57.0)	30 (53.6)	0.626
	No	165 (43.0)	26 (46.4)
Person can have stroke more than once	Yes	303 (78.9)	42 (75.0)	0.507
	No	81 (21.1)	14 (25.0)
Stroke has effect on daily activities	Yes	382 (99.5)	96.4	0.081
	No	2 (0.5)	2 (3.6)
Knows risk factors for stroke	3 or more	68 (17.7)	6 (10.7)	0.145
	1 or 2	304 (79.2)	46 (82.1)
	Don’t know	12 (3.1)	4 (7.1)

Table 4. Differences in stroke knowledge among individuals with hypertension vs. without hypertension

Stroke knowledge question	Individuals with normal blood pressure (N = 354)	Individuals with hypertension (N = 86)	Chi-square/fisher’s exact test statistic (p-value)
Stroke caused by sudden attack of brain	184 (52.0)	44 (51.2)	0.02 (0.892)
Stroke in preventable	196 (55.4)	53 (61.6)	1.10 (0.293)
Someone can have stroke more than once	281 (79.4)	64 (74.4)	1.01 (0.316)
Stroke has effect on daily activities like driving, use of toilet and having a job	350 (98.9)	86 (100)	0.98 (>0.999)
What do you believe causes stroke?
Hypertension	165 (46.6)	34 (39.5)	1.40 (0.237)
Stress	270 (76.3)	63 (73.3)	0.34 (0.559)
Bad diet	47 (13.3)	16 (18.6)	1.60 (0.206)
Fatty foods	48 (13.6)	14 (16.3)	0.42 (0.516)
High cholesterol	10 (2.8)	5 (5.8)	1.88 (0.171)
Obesity	9 (2.5)	5 (5.8)	2.40 (0.121)
Lack of exercise	27 (7.6)	6 (7.0)	0.04 (0.837)
Atherosclerosis	11 (3.1)	4 (4.7)	0.50 (0.507)
Alcohol	8 (2.3)	5 (5.8)	3.05 (0.081)
Inheritance	4 (1.1)	1 (1.3)	0.02 (>0.999)
Do not know	9 (2.5)	3 (3.9)	0.48 (0.448)
Other causes	94 (26.6)	21 (24.4)	0.16 (0.686)
Knows any risk factors for stroke
Yes	343 (96.9)	83 (96.5)	0.35 (0.779)
Knows any warning signs for stroke
Yes	317 (89.6)	79 (91.9)	0.41 (0.521)
Planned response to an event of stroke (most frequent)
Go to hospital	314 (88.7)	79 (91.9)	0.72 (0.395)
Call general practitioner/doctor	23 (6.5)	6 (7.0)	0.03 (0.872)
Ask family members or relatives to help	6 (1.7)	1 (1.2)	0.13 (>0.999)
Visit alternative health care providers (e.g. herbalist/traditional healer)	1 (0.3)	2 (2.3)	4.27 (0.099)
Invite a physiotherapist	1 (0.3)	1 (1.3)	1.47 (0.225)
Other plans	81 (22.9)	24 (27.9)	0.96 (0.327)
Would you participate in stroke prevention strategies?
Yes	349 (98.9)	85 (98.8)	0.00 (>0.999)