Abstract Body

Worldwide, the absolute numbers of strokes as well as the incidence of stroke in younger people has increased over the last three decades. Two thirds of the disability-adjusted life years from neurological disorders is attributed to stroke. Stroke is highly preventable. Knowledge of the risk factors of stroke, ideally tailored to the individual, and the management of these, along with awareness of stroke symptoms and actions are key factors in the efforts to reduce stroke burden. Community based initiatives can be both targeted to specific communities or population-wide, and a number of these have shown varied levels of success in terms of improvement of lifestyle and behaviour changes. Behaviour change is a complex phenomenon, requiring a number of factors to align to translate intent to volition. Apart from stroke awareness, factors affecting change include the stage of change that an individual may be at (usually assessed by “their readiness to change”), psychosocial, and socioeconomic circumstances. Successful community-based interventions should ideally demonstrate feasibility, consumer acceptability, motivational value and a clinically significant behaviour change. The presentation will review a number of multifactorial community-based stroke prevention interventions, including motivational interviewing, health coaching, educational strategies, and mobile technology, including in ethnically/racially diverse communities. The presentation will discuss the behaviour change models that may apply to these interventions, and the any inclusion of the assessment of readiness in these communities. Population-wide strategies implemented in the community along with targeted risk reduction and awareness interventions may be the ideal strategy to combat the rising burden of stroke.