Cluster-randomised controlled trial of Stroke 1-2-0 education programme to reduce stroke prehospital delay in China: a study protocol

INTRODUCTION: Stroke is the leading cause of death and disability in China. The median time of stroke pre-hospital delay is more than 15 hours, mainly due to the lack of awareness on stroke symptoms and calling emergency services. We developed Stroke 1-2-0 recognition tool in China, by adapting Face, Arm, Speech and Time. Our preliminary findings suggested that Stroke 1-2-0 can improve public’s knowledge of the stroke symptoms, but its impact on the prehospital delay is still unclear. Furthermore, these findings were mainly obtained from Shanghai, one of the largest metropolises in China. However, more than half of population in China lives in the rural area. Given the striking disparities in socioeconomic status and quality of stroke care across the nation, a multicentre trial is warranted. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Stroke 1-2-0 education programme will adopt a multicentre, cluster-randomised controlled design. We aimed to recruit 32 communities from 16 counties across China. Each county includes two communities having more than 100 000 residents. The two communities sampled in the same county will be randomly assigned to receive either Stroke 1-2-0 education programme or usual care. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of Stroke 1-2-0 public education programme in reducing stroke prehospital delay among adults residing in the community, compared with the usual care. The intervention will be implemented for 1 year. The primary outcomes are the symptom onset to hospital arrival time (‘onset-to-door time’, ODT) and 3-hour hospital arriving rate. We will use an intention-to-treat approach. A linear mixed model will be used to control for potential cluster effects. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study is approved by the Shanghai Minhang District Central Hospital Institutional Review Board (Shanghai, China). The findings will be disseminated via peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ChiCTR2000040782.