Stroke Information for South Asian Minority Groups

People of South Asian origin have a poor awareness and understanding of stroke and what to do if a stroke occurs, despite being at a higher risk of stroke than the general population. A pilot study was conducted with South Asian groups in Blackburn to explore the impact of a stroke information DVD produced in Hindi for such communities.

The results suggested a significant increase in stroke knowledge immediately after viewing the DVD and that this information was retained at a one-month follow-up. Positive health behaviour changes were also reported.

A second study conducted in partnership with Blackburn Healthy Living, explored methods of dissemination and concluded that it was feasible to disseminate this DVD by various methods which included community groups, health promotion events, educational institutions, local news media and faith-based organisations.

Finding so far

The DVD has been assessed with South Asian Participants by Dr Foster Intelligence, on behalf of the NW Strategic Health Authority, and has been judged to be a credible and useful resource to disseminate stroke information to South Asian groups.

The DVD has been rated as very good and excellent by members of a range of South Asian communities across Lancashire. The DVD has been tested for effectiveness of knowledge transfer using a randomised controlled trial design and found to increase knowledge and the short and medium-term. Data collection is on-going to enable estimates of the penetration of the DVD into the South Asian communities of Lancashire.