Access and Medication Use among Stroke Patients in Rural Cross River State, Nigeria

This study is designed to investigate influence of access to medication on medication use among stroke patients in rural communities of Cross River State, classified among areas of high prevalence in Nigeria. The Predisposing-Enabling-Need theory provided the framework. The study employed descriptive survey design. Purposive sampling was used to select Ikom, Etung, and Abi Local Government Areas (LGAs) due to their genealogical relationships and presence of stroke patients. The sample size of 600 was selected, from which 200 respondents were sampled from each LGA. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 10 wards from each of the LGAs, 20 villages from each ward and 10 respondents who were stroke patients from each village and were administered with a semi-structured questionnaire. Thirty in-depth interviews were conducted with six key opinion leaders (chiefs, elders and religious leaders), six care givers, six significant others, and 12 stroke patients. Eighteen Focus Group Discussions were conducted among six men, six women, two community leaders and four community members, while two life histories were carried out on stroke patients. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square and Multivariate logistic regression at p=0.05; while the qualitative data were content-analysed. Access to modern treatment was poor due to bad roads (92.5%), long distance to medical facilities (71.1%), and prolonged waiting time for treatment (76.5%). Medication use was significantly associated with distance to care (OR=0.144). There is need for sustained enlightenment of the people on the risk factors of stroke, access to treatment and use of medication.