Improving stroke prevention in the French West Indies: limits to lay knowledge of risk factors.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: We sought to evaluate lay knowledge and understanding of cardiovascular diseases in the French West Indies. METHODS: In 2007, a cross-sectional study of 1005 randomly selected men and women (54%) age 25 to 74 years from Guadeloupe and stratified by sex, age, and region was established to ascertain the population's knowledge and awareness of chronic diseases. Questions were asked about the respondent's knowledge of cardiovascular risk factors as well as their opinions and beliefs about measures to prevent these diseases. RESULTS: Knowledge about stroke prevention in this sample was lower than for heart disease, with 69% of women and 65% of men reporting that precautions can be taken to avoid a stroke versus 84% and 77%, respectively, for heart disease. "Avoid stress" was the most commonly cited stroke prevention measure, with 35% of women and 27% of men reporting it. The first spontaneous item cited for heart disease prevention was "physical exercise or sport," reported by 47% of women and 45% of men. We hypothesize that knowledge of stroke and stroke risk factors is poor in Guadeloupe or that it reflects culturally adapted health promotion messages from doctors. CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge and awareness were found to be lower for stroke than for heart diseases. Changes in health promotion strategies are required in the French West Indies to improve the population's overall awareness of these diseases and to narrow the gap between knowledge and practice.