Abstract
BACKGROUND: Stroke is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally, with Nigeria having one of the highest stroke mortality rates in Africa. The burden of stroke is particularly high in middle-aged individuals, who are often the primary breadwinners and caregivers in their families. Despite the high burden of stroke in this community, there is a paucity of studies on the knowledge and perception of stroke management practices among middle-aged residents of Otolo community. AIM: This study investigated the knowledge and perception of middle-aged residents of Otolo community in Nnewi North Local Government Area to stroke management practices; and to identify certain sociodemographic factors that may influence the knowledge and perception of this residents. METHOD: A total of 191 middle-aged residents of Otolo community in Nnewi North Local Government Area, participated in this cross-sectional study. A self-reported questionnaire was distributed to the participants in the meeting venues, churches and market places with the help of research assistants after filling the consent forms. The data collection lasted for four weeks and it took the average of 12 min to complete each questionnaire. Analysis of the collected data was done using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26. RESULT: The findings of this study revealed that the study participants had a better knowledge of medical stroke management 36 (19%) than traditional stroke care 19(10%). Majority of the participants had a positive perception of medical stroke care129 (68%) than traditional management practices110 (58%). Age, educational status and occupational status were found to have statistically significant association (p < 0.05) with the participants' knowledge, while the educational attainment and occupational status were the major demographic variables found to be associated (p > 0.05) with the respondents' perception of stroke management practice. CONCLUSION: The middle-aged residents of Otolo community had a fair knowledge of medical management of stroke and a poor knowledge of traditional stroke care. Majority of the study respondents had a more positive perception of medical management of stroke as compared to traditional management. Some of the sociodemographic factors found to impact knowledge and perception of this management practices includes age, educational attainment and occupation.