Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Stroke is one of the leading causes of morbidity, mortality and healthcare expenditure in India. Acute management of ischemic stroke is a complex, multidisciplinary endeavor that has roots in medical education. However, there is a paucity of data addressing the issue of stroke awareness among the college student population in India. This study was performed as a baseline measure to determine the understanding of stroke and thrombectomy care among both medical and non‐medical college students. METHODS: Medical and non‐medical college students were randomly selected from Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu states in India to participate in a created survey. The questionnaire was distributed to hundreds of students to assess ability to identify stroke symptoms, knowledge of stroke risk factors and stroke‐related neurointerventional procedures. RESULTS: A total of 106 survey responses were collected from 59 medical and 47 non‐medical students across various states in India. 61 (57.5%) participants with only 6.6% non‐medical students responded that they were able to recognize a stroke. 45 (42.5%) students with a majority (76.6%) of non‐medical participants reported no prior contact with a stroke patient. Overall, 27 (25.5%) students with 40.7% medical and 6.4% non‐medical participants were able to identify the symptoms of stroke. 59.3% of medical and 14.9% of non‐medical students could recognize associated risk factors. Only 10.6% of non‐medical participants had exposure to stroke education at their institution. 36 (34.0%) participants with 54.2% medical and 8.5% non‐medical students reported prior exposure to neuro intervention. 93.2% of medical and 21.3% of non‐medical students were aware of the time window for administering thrombolysis. 72.9% of medical and 27.7% of non‐medical students were aware of the indication and time window for mechanical thrombectomy. A total of 89 (84.0%) participants responded that the collective efforts of medical society and government would improve stroke awareness and outcomes. Overall, 96 (90.6%) respondents believed there should be more effort to promote stroke awareness. CONCLUSIONS: Our data provides a snapshot of the general awareness of stroke and thrombectomy care in medical and non‐medical student participants. Based on this study, the need to educate the younger generation about stroke is indeed clear. Further, most respondents indicated that increased collaborative effort from medical society would be instrumental in improving access and outcomes. We propose a basic multi‐tiered approach incorporating public health interventions to improve stroke and thrombectomy care in India.