Dorien Brouwer

48 Chapter 1.2 PART 1 Two other participants weren’t aware of the risk of smoking on TIA or ischemic strokes and didn’t feel fear of recurrence by keeping smoking. “Yes well I had this, but stop smoking: no. Maybe as a second MRI shows something, that I think: oh.” (10, V48) “Nonsense. Well nonsense, but twenty years ago the doctor and the cardiologist were smoking next to your hospital bed ... they’re all still alive that people .. I mean .. I don’t want to say that smoking is healthy, but we should not all exaggerate with each other, but well, it is unhealthy, I completely agree with you, but I already reduced smoking” (15, M73) Hospital advices Most patients received advices on health-related behavior during their stay in the hospital or visit to the outpatient clinic. This consisted according to the patients of the following advice: taking rest, eat healthy, stay in condition and use their medication. Some patients didn’t receive any advice because they didn’t consider it necessary. “Yeah it’s all very logical. When you just read something here and there about physical activity, don’t smoke, drink less alcohol, so I think, half of that I already do.” (7, M80) More than half of the patients did not need any support to change their health-related behavior. They mentioned that they had enough knowledge of what was right because of the hospital advice or their own knowledge. “No, I already know. I know enough and when I don’t, I will find out myself” (6, M66) Most patients who quit smoking in the past did this without support. Patients also learned about healthy lifestyle because of relatives who received advices. “Well ehh, my father has had quite a bit of raised cholesterol for a while, so you already know something about it and you hear and you read something ... and I actually knew it, but I had also received a brochure. [and did you benefit from that brochure] No actually not, no .. no actuallymore, it actually contained what I already knew.” (16, V64) Support needs Some patients needed more information about what they can do themselves to prevent another TIA or ischemic stroke. In addition, there was also a need for guidelines on what