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OBJECTIVES: To describe the availability and barriers to access post-stroke rehabilitation services in Latin America. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a multi-national survey in Latin American countries. The survey consisted of three sections: (1) the national state of post-stroke rehabilitation; (2) the local state of post-stroke rehabilitation; and (3) the coverage and financing of post-stroke services. Stroke leaders from the surveyed countries were involved in developing and disseminating the survey. RESULTS: 261 responses were collected from 17 countries. The mean age of respondents was 42.4 ± 10.1 years, and 139 (54.5 %) of the respondents were male. National clinical guidelines for post-stroke rehabilitation were reported by 67 (25.7 %) of the respondents. However, there were discrepancies between respondents within the same country. Stroke units, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and neuropsychological therapy services were less common in public than private settings. The main barriers for inpatient and outpatient services included limited rehabilitation facilities, coverage, and rehabilitation personnel. The main source of financing for the inpatient and outpatient services was the national health insurance, followed by out-of-pocket payments. Private and out-of-pocket costs were more frequently reported in outpatient services. CONCLUSIONS: Post-stroke rehabilitation services in Latin American countries are restricted due to a lack of coverage by the public health system and private insurers, human resources, and financial aid. Public settings offer fewer post-stroke rehabilitation services compared to private settings. Developing consensus guidelines, increasing coverage, and using innovative approaches to deliver post-stroke rehabilitation is paramount to increase access without posing a financial burden.
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Introduction: Stroke is one of the leading causes of death in Latin America, a region with countless gaps to be addressed to decrease its burden. In 2018, at the first Latin American Stroke Ministerial Meeting, stroke physician and healthcare manager representatives from 13 countries signed the Declaration of Gramado with the priorities to improve the region, with the commitment to implement all evidence-based strategies for stroke care. The second meeting in March 2020 reviewed the achievements in 2 years and discussed new objectives. This paper will review the 2-year advances and future plans of the Latin American alliance for stroke. Method: In March 2020, a survey based on the Declaration of Gramado items was sent to the neurologists participants of the Stroke Ministerial Meetings. The results were confirmed with representatives of the Ministries of Health and leaders from the countries at the second Latin American Stroke Ministerial Meeting. Results: In 2 years, public stroke awareness initiatives increased from 25 to 75% of countries. All countries have started programs to encourage physical activity, and there has been an increase in the number of countries that implement, at least partially, strategies to identify and treat hypertension, diabetes, and lifestyle risk factors. Programs to identify and treat dyslipidemia and atrial fibrillation still remained poor. The number of stroke centers increased from 322 to 448, all of them providing intravenous thrombolysis, with an increase in countries with stroke units. All countries have mechanical thrombectomy, but mostly restricted to a few private hospitals. Pre-hospital organization remains limited. The utilization of telemedicine has increased but is restricted to a few hospitals and is not widely available throughout the country. Patients have late, if any, access to rehabilitation after hospital discharge. Conclusion: The initiative to collaborate, exchange experiences, and unite societies and governments to improve stroke care in Latin America has yielded good results. Important advances have been made in the region in terms of increasing the number of acute stroke care services, implementing reperfusion treatments and creating programs for the detection and treatment of risk factors. We hope that this approach can reduce inequalities in stroke care in Latin America and serves as a model for other under-resourced environments.
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Introducción: El accidente cerebrovascular (ACV) es una patología prevalente y dependiente del tiempo. Su tratamiento completo inicial es competencia obligatoria del médico general en Chile. En el contexto de la enseñanza clínica tradicional, hay pocas oportunidades de práctica en ese momento de la evolución de los casos. El objetivo fue evaluar el efecto de un programa de simulación virtual remota sincrónica para el tratamiento inicial del ACV en estudiantes de quinto año de medicina.Sujetos y métodos.Estudio cuantitativo, cuasi experimental. Se realizaron cinco sesiones, en días separados, en grupos de tres estudiantes. Cada sesión consistió en tres escenarios de simulación virtual de complejidad creciente, administrada de manera remota, con registro de desempeño individual y debriefing grupal. Se calculó la confiabilidad y se utilizó la prueba de Wilcoxon para muestras relacionadas con p < 0,05 como estadísticamente significativa para comparar los cuestionarios pre- y poscurso.Resultados.Se observó una mejoría del diagnóstico y el tratamiento farmacológico inicial del ACV entre el primer y el tercer casos. Los participantes declararon que la experiencia con el simulador creó oportunidades para la práctica clínica simulada y promovió el desarrollo de la formación en comunicación (p < 0,005). La satisfacción con el programa medida después del término del curso mostró un alto grado de acuerdo promedio.Conclusiones.La simulación virtual aplicada en un programa de práctica deliberada, con debriefing guiado por un instructor, mejoró las competencias para el tratamiento inicial del ACV en estudiantes de grado de medicina y fue muy bien valorada por los estudiantes. (AU)
Introduction: Stroke is a prevalent and time-dependent pathology. Its complete initial management is a mandatory competence of the general practitioner in Chile. In the context of traditional clinical teaching, there are few opportunities for practice at that moment of the evolution of cases. The objective was to evaluate the effect of a remote virtual simulation program, synchronous with debriefing, for the initial management of stroke in fifth year medical students.Subjects and methods.Quantitative, quasi-experimental study. Five sessions were conducted on separate days in groups of three students. Each session consisted of three virtual simulation scenarios of increasing complexity, administered remotely, with individual performance recording and group debriefing. Reliability was calculated and the Wilcoxon test for related samples with p < 0.05 was used as statistically significant to compare pre and post course questionnaires.Results.Improvement in the diagnosis and initial pharmacological management of stroke was observed between the first and third cases. Participants stated that the simulator experience created opportunities for simulated clinical practice and promoted the development of communication training (p < 0.005). Satisfaction with the program measured after completion of the course showed a high degree of average agreement.Conclusions.Virtual simulation applied in a deliberate practice program, with instructor-guided debriefing has improved competencies for the initial management of stroke in undergraduate medical students and was highly valued by the students. (AU)