Effects of a Behavior Intervention Based on the Recurrence Risk Perception and Behavioral Decision Model for Ischemic Stroke Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Behavioral management is essential to preventing recurrence after stroke, but its adherence is limited worldwide. We aimed to assess the impact of the behavior intervention based on the Recurrence risk perception and Behavioral decision Model for ischemic stroke patients' health behavior. This study was a single-blind, randomized, controlled trial with a 3-month follow-up. The outcome measures were the perception of the risk of stroke recurrence, behavioral decision, and health behavior. A total of seventy participants were randomized to the intervention group (n = 35) or control group (n = 35). The former received a twelve-week theory-based intervention in addition to the routine education, while the control group received only the routine education. The generalized estimating equations results indicated that the intervention group had significantly greater improvements in perception of the risk of stroke recurrence compared to the control group at all T1 (B = 0.13, 95% CI: 0.03 to 0.23), T2 (B = 0.18, 95% CI: 0.07 to 0.28), and T3 (B = 0.16, 95% CI: 0.07 to 0.25) after adjusting for stroke frequency. Statistically significant improvements were found in behavioral decision for the intervention group compared with the control group at T2 (B = 0.25, 95% CI: 0.09 to 0.41) and T3 (B = 0.26, 95% CI: 0.10 to 0.43). Results also showed a significantly higher increase in health behavior at T1 (B = 0.29, 95% CI: 0.09 to 0.48) and T2 (B = 0.22, 95% CI: 0.04 to 0.40). The intervention can improve the perception of the risk of stroke recurrence, behavioral decision, and health behavior in ischemic stroke patients. IMPLICATIONS: This study provides a reference point for promoting healthy behaviors in patients with ischemic stroke. A recurrence risk perception and behavioral decision model-based intervention was deemed to be feasible and useful in practice. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Patients and their caregivers agreed to participate in the study and shared their experiences of participating in research with us.