Perception of Stroke Fast Track among Risk Persons in Community

Abstract

Background and objective: Stroke can result in paralysis and disability. One of the strategies for reducing these complications of stroke is promoting a stroke fast track service. In Thailand, however, the accessibility to stroke fast track is still low. This is probably because of lack of the perception of stroke fast track of the people. This study aimed to explore the perception of stroke fast track among risk persons in community.

Methods: One hundred and fifty-five persons with hypertension and diabetes of Ubolratana District, Khon Kaen Province were interviewed by means of a structured interview. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics.

Results: Only 12.3% of the participants had heard about the stroke fast track before and less than 10% of them could recognize the warning symptoms of stroke. About one-third of the participants did not know the proper ways to help a person access to the stroke fast track service.

Conclusions: The perception of stroke fast track among risk persons of Ubolratana District, Khon Kaen Province was not great enough. Thus, public educational campaigns for stroke fast track should be promoted.