Health Seeking Behavior, Essay Example

Factors Influencing Health seeking behavior of African Americans Experiencing Stroke Symptoms

A study concerning African American and their knowledge on strokes was conducted, this was a new and creative way of creating awareness of the health issue, and this study was done in a beauty salon. The participants of the study were thirty African American beauticians; they were educated about stroke warning signs and their risk factors within two cities in the United States. These thirty beauticians then informed their clientele during salon appointments. The knowledge of strokes that was gained was measured on three bases: de-indentified, pre-identified and open-ended questions. These warning signs were taught using the “FAST” method: Face, arm, speech, time.

A total of 383 surveys were completed and 318 of those surveys were answered within the span of five months. Out of the 383 women who took part in the survey, 78% of the women were younger than the age of 60, 69% of the participants had received college education, 41% of the women suffered from hypertension, and 12% of the women had been diagnosed with diabetes. The percentage of women who could recognize the three warning signs of a stroke improved as compared to the baseline survey which was 40.7%, the final survey resulted in 50.6% of the women with more knowledge on the issue. There were no improvements, however in the percentages of women who knew the factors of strokes which was 16.5% versus 18.2%. After the intervention, 94% of the women knew when to see stroke symptoms and to call 911 as soon as possible, this was an 8% improvement from the baseline of P=0.002. The study showed that education through this method proves to be effective, and it significantly improved knowledge about strokes. However, further studies regarding this are still needed.

A study involving a delay in response of stroke systems with patients or bystanders was conducted. There were 2975 stroke patients who met the inclusion criteria defined for stroke, out of this number 40% used emergency services. Only after adjustment were the odds of calling 911 were increased. Patients generally would respond differently according to different symptoms of stroke. Another study with 7144 citations which met the criteria was made. This involved the methods of data collection via postal survey (n = 2), interview survey (n = 6), review of hospital documentation (n = 2) and qualitative interviews (n = 1). Results showed that only half of the patients could recognize signs of stroke, and knew that they were in need of emergency care. This shows that there is lack of knowledge about the warning signs of strokes and their factors.

When a patient is experiencing a stroke, it is important that the pre-hospital and in-hospital interval times were very quick and prompt to response. A study was conducted concerning this involving patients who were admitted for stroke. Out of 151 stroke patients, 59% of which were white, and 41% were black, the time of stroke onset and time to ED arrival were documented for 119 patients which were 79% of the total. The median time for stroke onset to ED arrival was 5.7 hours, 46 patients (30%) were presented within 3 hours. Out of those 46 patients, the median time for EMS arrival was 1.7 hours. The median time from ED arrival to physician evaluation was 20 minutes, and the median time for patients from ED arrival to computed tomographic evaluation was 72 minutes. Patients were asked why they sought medical attention and 60 of the overall total (40%) did not seek medical attention themselves, and emergency attention was called out by a friend or a family member.

Participants in a survey regarding African American stroke patients were conducted with 103 participants. Out of these patients, the average age of the participants was 57.7 years old. The age range was from ages 34 to 93 years old. 52% of these participants were male, and all of the participants had at least two risk factors for stroke. On an average scale, patients with hemorrhagic lesions (9.7%) responded sooner than patients who had ischemic lesions. Participants responded on an average of 3.48 hours after the onset of symptoms. In the study, it took an average of 24.68 hours for the participants to seek attention; this was from a range of 1 minute to 432 hours. Two patients waited over six months and were not included in the final analysis of the study, 49% of the patients sought help within the first 3 hours, 54% of the patients waited for the first 12 hours and 83% of the patients waited 24 hours. Men reported at an average of 13.6 hours, and women reported on an average of 36.0 hours.

In a study involving stroke literacy with patients, it was found that Hispanic Americans were least likely to identify stroke symptoms as compared to whites. A sample size of 10 community sites within central Harlem was used for the study during the years 2006-2005. A total of 1,023 respondents completed a survey regarding awareness on stroke warning signs. 68& of the respondents were women, and the mean age was 51.6 years old. African Americans comprised of 65.7% of the participants (n = 627). Out of the participants in the study, only 15% of Hispanic Americans, and 25% of African Americans could identify with stroke symptoms. This was compared to the 47% of whites who were more aware of the warning signs.

The common theme within these studies was the knowledge and awareness of stroke warning signs. When a patient is more aware that he or she is experiencing a stroke, he or she is more likely to seek medical attention as soon as possible. Throughout the studies conducted, it shows that education on stroke and awareness of warning signs is still not enough, and further studies on increasing awareness on this health issue is needed. Patients were found to not know when they are experiencing a stroke, and time in which they receive the proper help was delayed.