Stroke services, training, research and advocacy needs in Africa: Preliminary results from the Africa – UK Stroke Partnership (AUKSP) project (Abstract only)

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIM
Safe and efficient acute stroke care services, effective training and and context -sensitive research and advocacy are key to reducing the high stroke burden in Africa. However, quantitative data is sparse on stroke care services, training and research priorities in Africa. We describe the status of acute stroke care services and unmask training and research needs in Africa.

METHODS
A 56-item, pre-tested, multi-lingual online survey tool adapted from the World Stroke Organization (WSO) Roadmap to delivering quality stroke care was sent to stroke experts in each African country through e-mail directories of national stroke organizations, the African Stroke Organization (ASO), the African Academy of Neurology (AFAN) and the WSO-Future Leaders African fellows. Data on stroke services, management guidelines, stroke research, stroke education and training were collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics.

RESULTS
We surveyed 54 but had responses from 45 (83%) African countries covering 95% of the population of Africa. Only 4% of respondent countries had a national stroke registry or national stroke surveillance system. Thrombolysis was available in 49% of countries, at an estimated 255 centers. 16% of countries had access to endovascular thrombectomy at 69 centers. National stroke-specific training programs were available for 11% of consultants, 9% of general medical practitioners and 4% of nurses. Reperfusion therapy was selected as the most important training need and national stroke registries as the top research priority.

CONCLUSION
Our study highlights core needs for stroke services improvement, capacity building, context - sensitive research and multi-level advocacy in Africa.