Determinants of Stroke Mortality through Survival Models: The Case of Mettu Karl Referral Hospital, Mettu, Ethiopia

INTRODUCTION: Every year worldwide, between five to six million deaths are associated with stroke; on average, one stroke-related death occurs every four minutes. In Ethiopia, stroke is a frequent cause of mortality and morbidity from noncommunicable diseases. Therefore, this study was aimed at determining factors associated to stroke mortality through survival models in Mettu Karl Referral Hospital. METHODS: This study was conducted from September 1, 2014, to April 1, 2017, and encompassed 202 stroke patients at Mettu Karl Referral Hospital. The Cox semiparametric regression was used for analyzing survival analysis of stroke patients using R software. RESULTS: A total of 202 stroke patients were included in the study, and among those patients, 72.8% and 27.2% were censored and died, respectively. According to the result of Cox semiparametric regression model, sex of patients, hypertension, baseline complication, and stroke type had significant effect on survival of the stroke patient at 5% significance level. CONCLUSION: The results from Cox semiparametric regression model indicated that sex of patients, hypertension, baseline complication, and stroke type were major factors related to the survival time of stroke patients. The researcher recommends that the people should be aware on the burden of those risk factors and well informed about the disease.