Discussion
stroke, ’ stroke
STROKE, SAID, HYPERTENSION
Mobile app-based health promotion programs are said to be an ideal far-reaching platform for efficient interventions because such mobile apps provide an easy way to access the target group [Our study has shown that behavioural changes towards more optimum lifestyle practices improved after three months’ exposure to SRA™ particularly in the intervention group. We postulate that stroke caregivers are more receptive when using mobile app rather than face to face counselling, including receiving traditional pamphlets or hardcopy versions of healthcare guidance. This could be due to the fact that the mobile app is user friendly and more patient-oriented, and can be accessed repeatedly at any time of need. The latter feature allows the user to revisit issues which may have been forgotten or requiring further reinforcement of knowledge, at their own time. For the conventional group, we conclude that the close monitoring may have motivated changes in lifestyle practices i.e., Hawthorne’s effect.Participants with better socioeconomic circumstances in the intervention group may have better access to healthier food choices, especially fruits and vegetables, thereby reducing their risk of NCDs [A systematic review of efficacy of interventions using mobile health applications to improve diet and physical activity found that multiple component interventions including face to face counselling in addition to an app, is more effective than a standalone app [Although this study used small number of participants, the observed results are encouraging especially in improving lifestyle practices, thus reducing modifiable risk factors for stroke and other NCDs as well. The findings from this trial support justification for future trials to be conducted across the population, using mobile app in altering risk factors. This study is one of the first to link caregivers’ stroke risk to “objectively measure changes in lifestyle behaviours”. We demonstrate the potential of the SRA™ in facilitating patient empowerment and self-management for NCD such as hypertension. The app not only empowers people to know their absolute risk as well as relative risk of having a stroke within the next 5–10 years, it also encourages reduction of risk of stroke by practicing a healthier lifestyle. The app also educates users about stroke warning signs (extended version of the Face-Arm-Speech-Time (F.A.S.T), their individual and overall risk factors and how to control them by using evidence-based and internationally recognised guidelines [Unlike some expenditures associated with screening of the population for implementation of high-risk prevention strategies, an app-based primary prevention strategy may empower and simultaneously influence the individual’s decision to reduce their risk of stroke. By taking advantage of population-wide and high-risk prevention strategies and at the same time addressing their current limitations, these mobile technologies could be merged into the hospital and community patient management structures, thus providing an important link between patients and healthcare providers.It was observed that the relative risk of caregivers compared to the general population were in general higher, according to the epidemiological database used by SRA™ [