ARTICLE REVIEW

Stroke awareness among British ethnic minorities

Stroke awareness among British ethnic minorities

Introduction

The aim of this paper is to discuss an article relevant to my future as a nurse, and how this article is relevant to my future role and professional practices. To begin with we will summarize the article under discussion and later on relate how that article is relevant to my future as a nurse.

Discussion

Stroke awareness among British ethnic minorities by Tony Ryan

The article under review is written by Tony Ryan who is a lecturer at the University of Sheffield the article was published in the British Journal of Community Nursing Vol 15, No 8. This article focuses on creating an awareness on strokes, the author believes that most of the African, Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani minorities are more prone to experience strokes since they lack the awareness and knowledge regarding how a stroke can be avoided and what are the factors that cause strokes. The author also stresses that the US has successfully taken initiatives to create awareness about how ethnic minorities can avoid any chances of strokes however the initiatives taken by UK haven't been so successful and there is a need to create more awareness.

The author also believes that when patients arrive to any healthcare organization they need to be facilitated and aided in such a manner that they can avoid any possible occurrences of strokes since according to the stroke association (n.d) there are approximately 1.2 million stroke survivors in the UK and amongst those almost half have been left with permanent disabilities. IOSH (2012) further provide that stokes are the third largest cause of death in the UK and have greater possibility of causing disabilities. Lee et al. (2011) further concur that 110,000 strokes occur in the UK each year.

A research conducted in the US by Trimble and Morgenstern (2008) indicates that minorities are at a higher risk of facing a stroke which can be caused by the environment they come from. Hypertension which is relatively higher in African communities is also a leading cause of stroke.

The article also serves as a guide for nurses on how to engage with stroke patients and aid them by promoting stroke health literature. The most crucial element is ensuring that nurses take up their responsibilities effectively.BBC Health (2010) clearly states that there are a range of people who can help a patient make a speedy recovery from a stroke and also guide the patient in preventing any reoccurrences by providing proper guidance. The stroke foundation (2012) has around the clock nurses that aim at helping the survivors restore their lives back and assist them and their families in understanding how to effectively deal with the changes a person might have to undergo based on the stroke and how future reoccurrences can be avoided, since according to the NSA (n.d) within 5 years of the first stroke 42% men and 24% women might experience a second stroke which places a stronger necessity of healthcare organizations to ensure that once ...