Background and purpose: Patients and medical professionals are likely to have different perspectives of stroke, making what patients want to know about stroke different from what medical professionals think they should know. We wished to determine these differences for patients and medical professionals in South Korea, as well as to identify patients' characteristics associated with perceptions of stroke education.
Methods: Fifty consecutive patients with acute stroke admitted to Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea, and 88 medical professionals (31 doctors and 57 nurses) working in the Departments of Neurology or Neurosurgery were administered a structured questionnaire regarding various aspects of patient education concerning stroke.
Results: The average ranking of total items for stroke education was higher in nurses than in doctors or patients (P < 0.01 for each). Patients gave higher rankings than doctors for 'possibility to cure with drug treatment' (P < 0.01), 'stress management' (P < 0.01), and most items concerning 'general medical knowledge' and 'post-stroke diet management,' whereas doctors gave higher rankings than patients for most items concerning risk factor management and treatment with surgery. Items concerning 'post-stroke diet management' were ranked lower by male patients than females patients (P < 0.005), and were ranked lower by doctors than by patients or nurses (P < 0.001). Younger patients gave higher rankings than older patients for items concerning 'medical knowledge regarding stroke,' 'exercise,' and 'post-stroke sexual activities' (P < 0.001 for each).
Conclusions: Perspectives on stroke education differ among doctors, nurses and patients. They also differ according to the situation of the patient. Education of stroke patients should be based on an understanding of these differences.