Factors affecting stroke pre-hospital delay behavioral intention among community residents: A path analysis.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Pre-hospital delay is the major cause of stroke treatment delay, and behavioral intention is considered to be the most direct predictor of behavior. Therefore, to effectively reduce stroke pre-hospital delay, it is essential to further understand the relationship between stroke pre-hospital delay intention (SPDBI) and its social-psychological influencing factors, namely personality traits, social support and coping style. AIM: This study aims at examining the relationships among personality traits, coping style, social support, and SPDBI. METHODS: A cross-sectional, self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 845 residents. The content of the questionnaire included demographic information, the knowledge of "Stroke 120", Ten-Item Personality Inventory-Chinese version, Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire, Perceived Social Support Scale and SPDBI Scale. Path analysis was used to investigate the relationship among SPDBI and its psychosocial influencing factors. RESULTS: The final path model showed a good fit to the data (χ2/df = 2.981, RMSEA = 0.048, GFI = 0.936, CFI = 0.941). Extroversion (ß = 0.106), positive coping (ß = -0.110), negative coping (ß = 0.150) and the knowledge of "Stroke 120" (ß = -0.152) had only direct effects on SPDBI. While agreeableness (ß = 0.113), openness (ß = -0.121) and social support (ß = -0.118) had direct effects on SPDBI, they also had indirect effects (ß = -0.009; -0.022; -0.049) on SPDBI though positive coping. CONCLUSIONS: Adequate social support and positive coping of health threat may reduce residents' SPDBI. Meanwhile, the interventions to reduce SPDBI should take personality differences into consideration.