title: Community-based post-stroke service provision and challenges: a national survey of managers and inter-disciplinary healthcare staff in Ireland.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The extent of stroke-related disability typically becomes most apparent after patient discharge to the community. As part of the Irish National Audit of Stroke Care (INASC), a national survey of community-based allied health professionals and public health nurses was conducted. The aim was to document the challenges to service availability for patients with stroke in the community and to identify priorities for service improvement.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was a cross-sectional tailored interview survey with key managerial and service delivery staff. As comprehensive listings of community-based health professionals involved in stroke care were not available, a cascade approach to information gathering was adopted. Representative regional managers for services incorporating stroke care (N = 7) and disciplinary allied health professional and public health nurse managers (N = 25) were interviewed (94% response rate).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results indicated a lack of formal, structured community-based services for stroke, with no designated clinical posts for stroke care across disciplines nationally. There was significant regional variation in availability of allied health professionals. Considerable inequity was identified in patient access to stroke services, with greater access, where available, for older patients (≥ 65 years). The absence of a stroke strategy and stroke prevalence statistics were identified as significant impediments to service planning, alongside organisational barriers limiting the recruitment of additional allied health professional staff, and lack of sharing of discipline-specific information on patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study highlighted major gaps in the provision of inter-disciplinary team community-based services for people with stroke in one country. Where services existed, they were generic in nature, rarely inter-disciplinary in function and deficient in input from salient disciplines. Challenges to optimal care included the need for strategic planning; increased funding of healthcare staff; increased team resources and teamwork; and removal of service provision barriers based on age. There were notably many challenges beyond funding. Similar evaluations in other healthcare systems would serve to provide comparative lessons to serve to tackle this underserved aspect of care for patients with stroke and their families.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Division of Population Health Sciences, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 123 St, Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Ireland. ahickey@rcsi.ie
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hickey
authors.forename: Frances
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Horgan
authors.forename: Desmond
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: O'Neill
authors.forename: Hannah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: McGee
mesh_terms: D000488:Allied Health Personnel; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006285:Health Planning; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007494:Ireland; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital; D009718:Nurse Administrators; D010348:Patient Care Team; D011637:Public Health Nursing; D020521:Stroke / Q000628:therapy*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires