# Age and sources of information variations and similarities on awareness of treatment and prevention of stroke among public and outpatients in Sub-Saharan Africa: a cross-sectional questionnaire study in Botswana

## TL;DR

This study in Botswana finds that public awareness of stroke treatment is higher than among outpatients, with age and information sources playing key roles.

## Contribution

This is the first study in sub-Saharan Africa comparing stroke awareness between outpatients and the public based on age and information sources.

## Key findings

- Awareness of medical therapy as acute stroke treatment was lower among outpatients compared to the public across all ages.
- HIV/AIDS history and healthy diet were associated with lower awareness of both stroke treatment and prevention.
- Educational campaigns should target age groups and use diverse information sources to improve stroke awareness.

## Abstract

In this cross-sectional study from Botswana, we investigated awareness of acute stroke treatment and prevention among stroke-risk outpatients and the public based on age and sources of information, in addition to association of stroke risk factors with this awareness.

Questionnaires on awareness of acute stroke treatment and prevention were administered by research assistants to a representative selection of outpatients and the public.

The response rate was 93.0% for the public and 96.6% for outpatients. Public respondents had a mean age of 36.1 ± 14.5 years (age range 18–90 years) and 54.5% were females, while outpatients had a mean age of 37.4 ± 12.7 years (age range 18–80 years) and 58.1% were females. Awareness of medical therapy as acute stroke treatment was inadequate among outpatients (75.5% for public vs 43.4% for outpatients among all-age, p < 0.001), due to awareness differences among all ages. Awareness of stroke prevention was adequate (81.5% of outpatients vs 71.6% of public among all-age, p = 0.601%), and similar trend was observed also among individual age groups. For awareness of medical therapy as an acute stroke treatment among all ages, the public was more likely than outpatients to get stroke information (p < 0.001) from almost all sources of information, while for awareness of stroke prevention among all-age, outpatients were more likely than the public to get stroke information from family/ friends (83.9% vs 70.5%, p = 0.042).

History of HIV/AIDS and having a healthy diet were associated with lower awareness of both acute stroke treatment and prevention (p < 0.05).

Results call for strategic educational stroke campaigns using best information relaying tool for each age and respondents’ group.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-025-21900-7.

• This is the first study comparing awareness of acute stroke treatment and prevention among outpatients and the public based on age and sources of information in sub-Saharan Africa

• Awareness of medical therapy as acute stroke treatment was lower among outpatients while higher among the public among all ages

• Almost all sources of stroke information were associated with higher awareness of acute stroke treatment among the public

• History of HIV/AIDS and having a healthy diet were associated with both poor awareness of acute stroke treatment and prevention

• Results call for educational stroke campaigns based on age and using almost all sources of information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-025-21900-7.