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| Survey findings reflect poor public knowledge of stroke |
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22.40% say pigeon blood can be used for treatment; 8.60% attribute stroke to black magic and 6.80% to djinn possession
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Shahina Maqbool
Islamabad
A fairly large percentage of people included in a sampling survey held in parts of Rawalpindi and Islamabad consider ‘hakeemi’ treatment, followed by application of pigeon’s blood, spiritual therapy and faith healing as appropriate treatment options for stroke patients.
The population-based random sampling survey has been conducted by the Department of Neurology at Shifa International to assess knowledge and awareness about clinical aspects of stroke and its treatment in the general population.
As many as 1,086 people with a mean age of 18 to 81 years, and education levels ranging from illiterate to primary, middle, matriculation and intermediate, and from graduation to masters and above were included in the survey from different areas (both urban and slums) of Islamabad (71.20%) and Rawalpindi (28.80%), with the male-female ratio being 68.60 and 31.40 percent, respectively.
According to the survey, a significantly high 25.60% of the respondents considered ‘hakeemi’ treatment as a feasible option for stroke patients while 22.40% are convinced that the application of pigeon’s blood can effectively be used for the purpose. Moreover, 14.50% of the respondents have favoured spiritual treatment and 12.10% would rather opt for faith healing (‘dum,’ ‘darood,’ ‘taweez’). Allopathic and homeopathic treatment options have been considered appropriate by 65.10 and 30 percent of the respondents, respectively, while a disturbing percentage of 8.50 expressed complete ignorance.
A high percentage of the population was unable to identify sudden loss of consciousness (22.10%), headache (14.90%), sudden vertigo (14.80%), and sudden visual loss (14.20%) as possible symptoms of stroke. In responding to a question about the causes of stroke, 8.60% of the respondents attributed the condition to black magic and 6.80% to djinn possession; 10.10% of the respondents tick-marked the option ‘I do not know.’ Those with a better level of awareness termed hypertension (42.40%), followed by age above 60 years (39.60%), obesity (31.20%), high cholesterol (29%), diabetes mellitus (25.40%), Ischemic Heart Diseases (20.10%) and family history (20%) as being the primary causes of stroke.
As many as 11.50% of the respondents had no idea whatsoever about which part of the body is primarily affected in stroke. Others termed muscles (50.10%), brain (40.40%), nerves (27.70%) and heart (16.30%) as being adversely influenced by the condition.
Thirty-two respondents conceded never having heard about stroke, while 1054 respondents (97.10%) replied to the question in the affirmative. “Do you think a stroke patient needs immediate treatment,” the respondents were asked in the questionnaire. In replying, 79.90% said ‘yes,’ 9.90% said ‘no’ and an alarmingly high 10.10% claimed complete ignorance.
The form also included questions on whether treatment options and outcomes would change for a stroke patient who reaches the hospital within 3 to 6 hours of onset; whether a stroke patient can benefit from long-term rehabilitation services like physiotherapy or speech therapy; and whether they (the respondents) would like to gain more information about stroke, its causes, prevention and treatment options as a general knowledge.
The survey findings underscore the need to promote public awareness, particularly with respect to identification of possible symptoms and risk factors of stroke. Knowledge about appropriate allopathic treatment options should also be made clear to public so that a stroke patient anywhere may seek immediate medical treatment to prevent further complications.
Stroke can physical and psychosocial disability and is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. According to World Health Organization estimates, 5.5 million people died of stroke in 2002, and roughly 20% of these deaths occurred in South Asia. The burden of the disease in South Asian countries (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka) has increased and is expected to rise due to lack of awareness.
The availability of limited scientific information about stroke awareness in the general population in Pakistan warrants improvement in the existing infrastructure to facilitate well-designed epidemiological studies. Moreover, the outreach of the media should be capitalized to promote mass awareness at the national level.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
