Does socioeconomic position affect knowledge of the risk factors and warning signs of stroke in the WHO European region? A systematic literature review

• Published in: BMC public health 2020-09, Vol.20 (1), p.1473-1473, Article 1473
• Main Authors: Stack, Katie, Robertson, Wendy, Blackburn, Clare
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Awareness; Boolean algebra; Citation management software; Demographic aspects; Education; Gender; Health aspects; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Health literacy; Health Promotion; Health risks; Heterogeneity; Humans; Knowledge; Literature reviews; Minority & ethnic groups; Outliers (statistics); Population; Public health; Risk analysis; Risk Factors; Signs and symptoms; Social aspects; Social class; Socioeconomic factors; Socioeconomic position; Socioeconomics; Stroke; Stroke - diagnosis; Stroke - epidemiology; Surveys; Systematic review; Warning; Warning signs; World Health Organization
• ISSN: 1471-2458; 1471-2458
• DOI: 10.1186/s12889-020-09580-x

Strokes are one of the leading causes of death worldwide. People with a lower socioeconomic position (SEP) (i.e. with regards to education, income and occupation) are at a higher risk of having a stroke and have worse clinical outcomes compared to the general population. Good knowledge levels about stroke risk factors and warning signs are key to prolonging life and reducing health issues caused by stroke. This systematic review examined differences in knowledge of stroke risk factors and warning signs with regards to SEP in the WHO European region. MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, PsycINFO and CINAHL were systematically searched using appropriate Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms and free text, combining search terms with Boolean operators. Two independent reviewers selected studies in two stages (title and abstract, and full-text), and screened reference lists of included studies. Only studies in English and based in the WHO European region were included. Screening identified 2118 records. In the final review, 20 articles were included, with 67,309 study participants between them. Out of 17 studies that looked at stroke risk factors, 11 found increasing knowledge to be associated with higher SEP, four found no difference by SEP, one showed a mixed pattern and one outlier study found increasing knowledge of risk factors to be associated with a lower SEP. Out of 19 studies that looked at stroke warning signs or symptoms, 15 found there to be better knowledge of warning signs with a higher SEP, three found there to be no difference, and the same outlier study found increasing knowledge of warning signs with a lower SEP. Studies that seemed to have a higher quality rating found increasing knowledge of stroke with a higher SEP. A meta-analysis was not possible due to heterogeneity of studies. In the WHO European region, better knowledge of stroke risk factors and warning signs is associated with a higher SEP. Public health campaigns and educational interventions aiming to increase stroke knowledge should be targeted at people with a lower SEP.