title: Barriers to acute stroke therapy and stroke prevention in Mexican Americans.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to identify specific targets to improve acute stroke treatment and stroke prevention in the Mexican American (MA) community.
  
  
  METHODS
  A professional, academic survey research team provided structured questions and elicited responses from 719 subjects identified by random-digit dialing in the biethnic community of Corpus Christi, TEXAS: This community of approximately 300 000 is approximately half MA and half non-Hispanic white (NHW). The cooperation rate for the survey was 58%.
  
  
  RESULTS
  MAs (n=357) were younger, less well educated, and had lower family income than NHWs (n=362, P=0.001). MAs had a higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus (P=0.001) but similar rates of hypertension, elevated cholesterol, and current tobacco use. MAs less commonly recognized that acute stroke therapy existed (P=0.029), were less likely to acknowledge a time window for acute stroke treatment (P=0.001), and were more reticent to say they would call 911 for stroke symptoms (P=0.01) than NHWS: MAs were significantly less able to recall stroke symptoms and risk factors than NHWS: Only approximately 20% of both groups identified stroke as the NO: 1 cause of disability. MAs expressed less confidence in their ability to prevent stroke (P<0.001), more distrust in the medical establishment (P=0.007), and more concern that money impedes their seeking medical care (P<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There are significant barriers to both acute stroke treatment and stroke prevention in MAS: This study identifies specific targets amenable for testing in an intervention project following confirmation by a methodology other than telephone survey.
authors.affiliation: Stroke Program, Department of Neurology, University of Texas Medical School, Houston, TX, USA. Lewis.Morgenstern@uth.tmc.edu
authors.forename: L B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Morgenstern
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Steffen-Batey
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Moyé
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D017058:Mexican Americans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008800:Mexico / Q000208:ethnology; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D020521:Stroke / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000628:therapy*; D013781:Texas; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data