Educational Strategies for Secondary Stroke Prevention: An Integrative Literature Review

Background Stroke has the highest global burden of any neurological disease. Many studies investigate secondary stroke prevention strategies, but the outcomes remain poor, and the rates of recurrent stroke stay high.Purpose This review synthesizes the existing studies that focus on educational strategies for stroke survivors to reduce their risk of further stroke.Methods A systematic search of the literature was undertaken across PubMed, CINAHL Plus, PsycINFO and ERIC, for articles published from 2010 to 2020. The selected articles were critically appraised using tools from the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI), before being thematically analyzed.Results A total of 20 studies were identified. Three main themes and sub-themes: 1) Focus (healthy behaviors, physical and psychological aspects, health literacy); 2) Types of intervention (program characteristics, structure and approach); 3) Future implications (positive values and challenges).Discussions Current programs are feasible and can have significant benefits on physical, psychological, and health literacy but are inadequate for improving smoking cessation, alcohol consumption and weight control behaviors.Translation to Health Education Practice How to reinforce healthy behaviors remains an issues to resolve. Understanding the stroke survivor's health literacy, the utilization of technology may offer the benefits of making education easily tailored to the individual's needs.