Healthcare professionals’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding perioperative ischemic stroke in elderly patients

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate healthcare professionals’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) related to perioperative ischemic stroke in elderly patients. A single-center, cross-sectional survey was conducted at a tertiary hospital in Ningxia, China, between 1 March 2025 and 1 June 2025. Healthcare professionals were recruited by convenience sampling and completed a structured questionnaire covering demographic information and their KAP regarding perioperative ischemic stroke. A total of 273 valid responses were included in the final analysis. The majority of respondents were physicians (75.46%), with most affiliated with anesthesiology departments (86.08%). The scores for knowledge, attitude, and practice were 14.41 ± 4.22 (possible range: 0–20), 36.77 ± 3.57 (possible range: 8–40), and 30.07 ± 6.51 (possible range: 8–40), respectively. Structural equation modeling showed that knowledge, attitude, and practice were positively interrelated, whereas training related to perioperative ischemic stroke and specialization in elderly patient care showed negative associations with knowledge or practice ( β range: −0.287 to 0.352; all P  < 0.05). Knowledge was also indirectly associated with practice through attitude, whereas training and specialization in elderly care showed negative indirect associations with attitude and practice. Healthcare professionals exhibited inadequate perceived knowledge, positive attitudes, and suboptimal practices regarding perioperative ischemic stroke in elderly patients. These findings underscore the necessity for targeted, evidence-based educational interventions to strengthen knowledge awareness and practice-related competencies, thereby addressing the observed gaps between perceived knowledge, attitudes, and reported practices.