Table 1. Knowledge among African American participants in stroke literacy studies.
| Study/Methods | Risk Factors | Signs/Symptoms | Action |
| Biederman12 2012; N = 2063; Telephone, open-ended; 26.9% AA, 68.7% F; Mean age (all participants) = 51.6 ± 17.7 | Top 3 reported: HTN (39.8%); DM (9.7%); diet (8.2%) | Top 3 reported: numb/weak (24.1%); dizzy (17.4%); chest pain (11.8%) | 90.1% call 911 |
| Fang20 2005; N = 71994; Telephone (BRFSS), close-endeda; 10.6% AA, 62.2% F; Age ≥ 18 | confused/ impaired speech (79.0%), numb/weak (88.0%), visual (58.8%), dizzy/difficulty walking (75.8%), headache (55.8%) | 83.7% call 911 “for heart attack or stroke” | |
| Fussman21 2009; N = 4790; Telephone (MiBRFS), open-ended; Specific demographic data not reported; Age ≥ 18 | Top 3 reported: HTN (33.7%); stress (33.6%); diet (33.1%) | Top 3 reported: numb/weak (63.1%), confused/impaired speech (32.5%), visual symptoms (16.7%) | |
| Greenlund19 2003; N = 61019; Telephone (BRFSS), close-ended; 10% AA, 40.8% F; Age ≥ 18 | confused/impaired speech (80.8%), numb/weak (91.2%), visual (57.3%), dizzy/difficulty walking (79.0%), headache (58.4%) | 84.3% call 911 for “heart attack or stroke” | |
| Lutfiyya23 2008; N = 11269; Telephone (BRFSS), close-ended; 100% AA, 100% F; Age ≥ 18 | confused/impaired speech (94.2%), numb/weak (96.5%), visual (81.7%), dizzy/difficulty walking (91.6%), headache (58.3%) | 86.6% call 911 for “heart attack or stroke” | |
| Lutfiyya24 2008; N = 19163; Telephone (BRFSS), close-ended; 9.4% AA, 100% male; Age 18-90 | confused/impaired speech (89.4%), numb/weak (95.2%), visual (77.7%), dizzy/difficulty walking (89.7%), headache (56.2%) | 82.1% call 911 for “heart attack or stroke” | |
| Lutfiyya22 2009; N = 16104; Telephone (BRFSS), close-ended; 13.7% AA, 100% F; Age 45-54; Mean age (AA) = 49.23 | confused/impaired speech (95.7%), numb/weak (97.7%), visual (84%), dizzy/difficulty walking (92.5%), headache (65.7%) | 87.9% call 911 for “heart attack or stroke” | |
| Mochari-Greenberger26 2014; N = 1205; Telephone (AHA NWTS), open-ended; 17% AA, 100% F; Age ≥ 25 | Top 3 reported: numb/weak (55%), confused/impaired speech (44%), headache (24%) | 86% call 911 | |
| Pratt13 2003; N = 379; Telephone, open and close-ended; 100% AA, 71.6% F; Age ≥ 50; Mean age = 64.7 ± 10.0 | “Causes”: HTN (58.8%), stress (29.3%), diet (16.9%) | Top 3 reported: numbness (29.3%), dizziness (16.9%), slurred speech (15.5%) | 70.4% call 911 |
| Saller25 2010; N = 188; Person-to-person, close-ended; 100% AA, 67% F; Age 18-74; Mean age = 34.9 ± 13.5 | HTN (90.4%), stress (82.4%), tobacco (61.7%), DM (46.8%) | confused/impaired speech (60.1%), numb/weak (72.3%), vision (35.6%), dizzy/difficulty walking (43.1%), headache (39.9%) | 43.1% call 911 |
| Sharrief14 2015; N = 80; Paper questionnaire, close-ended; 95% AA, 30% F; Age 22-82; Mean age = 51.5, SD = 11.2 | stress (90%), HTN, DM, and tobacco (80%), sleep apnea, AF, obesity (58.6%) | 77.5% correctly identified weakness, slurred speech, and vision loss as symptoms of stroke | 87.5% call 911 |
| Skolarus17 2010; N = 332; Person-to-person survey, vignettes; 89.5% AA,71% F; Median age (adults) = 47 (IQR 33-54) | 51% of adults correctly identified stroke vignettes | 89% adults would call 911 for “stroke” | |
| Willey7 2009; N = 1023; Person-to-person, close-ended; 65.7% AA, 68% F; Age 13-94; Mean age = 51.6 | HTN (87.3%), DM (53.8%), smoking (42.3%) | speech (62.5%), weakness (70.8%), blurred vision (44.0 %), headache (59.6%) | 89.6% call 911 |
a. Close-ended questions include yes/no and multiple choice.
AA, African American; F, female; RF, Risk factors; HTN, hypertension; DM, diabetes mellitus; AF, atrial fibrillation; BRFSS, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; MiBRFS, Michigan Behavioral Risk Factor Survey; AHA NWTS, American Heart Association National Women’s Tracking Survey.