Stroke is one of the leading causes of disability in adults with a worldwide prevalence of about 102 million people in 2019. The burden of stroke and its cost are very high. Current estimates suggest that about 80% of new and recurring strokes are occurring in what are called “developing countries” or “low and middle-income countries”, which are regions typically located in South America, the Caribbean, Asia, and Africa. The limited number of trained medical staff, lower allocation of resources, and the scarcity of technology are often at the heart of the health disparities seen in stroke care worldwide. The disparities in providing healthcare in the face of stroke can be seen in all stages from acute, to sub-acute, to chronic stroke care. There are many gaps in the time window and in the availability of good stroke services, facilities for intravenous (IV) and intra-arterial (IA) thrombolysis, and comprehensive stroke rehabilitation units. There is a necessity to identify the unmet need and the gap in stroke care in these countries. Understanding these gaps will lead us to identify the potential approaches for bridging these gaps in developing countries.

The purpose of this Research Topic is to help identify specific problems around stroke care in developing countries as well as highlight potential solutions to these problems. There is a need for studies about effective stroke promotion, early recognition methods, comprehensive stroke care, multidisciplinary approaches for stroke patients and caregivers, effective telerehabilitation as well as the effective application of assistive technology including robotic, artificial intelligence, and mobile technologies to assist clinicians and patients in these countries to bridge the current gaps.

This Research Topic welcomes the submission of any type of manuscript supported by the journal (including Original Research, Review, etc.) that specifically discusses the problems of stroke care, stroke risk factors in developing countries, disparities in functional outcomes, access to rehabilitation as well as potential technology solutions to bridging healthcare gaps with stroke. The following themes are welcomed:
• Studies about the burden of stroke care in developing countries
• Identify the unmet need in the treatment of stroke and the post-acute stroke care
• Original research on stroke intervention strategies in developing countries
• Development of technology for stroke care and rehabilitation that are potential solutions for developing countries or have been developed in a developing country
• Studies to improve functional outcomes (e.g., motor, cognitive, etc.) after stroke using novel approaches such as telerehabilitation, mobile health, assistive robotics, and therapy robots that are potential solutions for developing countries or have been developed in a developing country
• Identify healthcare disparities in functional outcomes due to gaps in stroke care across developing countries
• Capacity Building research around improving clinical resources to promote better access to stroke care

Prof. Michelle J. Johnson is a co-Founder of Recupero Robotics LLC, which is an UPAdvisor Company at Penn Center for Innovation. Prof. Rochelle Mendonca is a co-founder and current research consultant of Recupero Robotics LLC. The other Topic Editors declare no competing interests with regard to the Research Topic subject.

Impact

Frontiers in Stroke

Population Health and Risk Factors of Stroke

Participating Journals

Frontiers in Neurology

Stroke