title: Perceived emotional support and frequent social contacts are associated with greater knowledge of stroke warning signs: evidence from two cross-sectional us population surveys.
abstract: Public knowledge of acute stroke symptoms is a goal of public health policy. Similarly, general health knowledge is a hypothesized pathway for the salutary effects of social ties. This study examined the association of stroke warning sign knowledge with the quantity (number of recent social contacts) and/or quality (perceived emotional support) of social ties in two population-based cross-sectional surveys (Ns = 33,326 and 80,454). Both higher levels of emotional support and more frequent social contacts were independently associated with greater stroke warning sign knowledge. Social isolation is a novel marker of poor knowledge of stroke warning signs.
authors.affiliation: Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA. steven.barger@nau.edu
authors.forename: Steven D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Barger
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012931:Social Environment; D012944:Social Support; D020521:Stroke / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult