Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability world-wide. Stroke systems of care, integrated approaches to stroke care delivery, and the availability of resources for stroke care vary considerably across geographic regions, creating a risk for sub-optimal care.
The World Health Organization has committed to efforts to significantly reduce risk factors and mortality from non-communicable diseases by 2025. Mortality and morbidity from stroke could be significantly reduced through organized stroke care, including the implementation of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines and adoption of a continuous quality improvement philosophy and programs.
Stroke Rehabilitation focuses on rehabilitation goal setting, assessment, therapies, and interventions to promote optimal ongoing physical, cognitive, and emotional recovery for stroke survivors. The goals of stroke rehabilitation are to help stroke survivors regain as much independence in functioning and increase quality of life. Stroke rehabilitation could significantly improve outcomes for stroke survivors and should be goal oriented. Stroke rehabilitation services and activities are delivered in the sub-acute phase, usually staring soon after a stroke occurs, once the person is medially stable, and it could be beneficial for weeks, months or even years following a stroke. Stroke rehabilitation ideally involves healthcare providers with expertise in stroke recovery and takes place in many settings including inpatient rehabilitation units, community-based rehabilitation programs, acute care hospitals, day programs, and in the home, based on resource and facility availability.
This roadmap provides the framework for the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of stroke services globally. It provides standardization and consistency for the selection of evidence-based recommendations, approaches to implementations in clinical practice, and the calculation of performance measures to create an environment of continuous quality improvement. Read more here
Achieving our vision of a life free from stroke is a task that WSO cannot achieve alone. We are committed to building our partnerships at the global, regional and national level to scale up and deliver improvements in prevention, treatment and support to reduce the burden of stroke.
With support from:
*All WSO educational programs are independently developed and delivered.