Halt stroke: Prevention and rehabilitation of stroke in Uganda

Stroke is one non-communicable disease (NCD) on the rise in low-income settings in Africa. This chronic condition is costly and demands resources to treat. The purpose of the new network is to increase knowledge of occurrence and consequences of NCDs, specifically on stroke.

Through a collaboration between the research group HELD at Karolinska Institutet (KI) in Sweden and Africa Medical and Behavioral Sciences Organization (AMBSO) population health surveillance in Uganda, their database will be developed by collecting valuable information for prevention, care and rehabilitation of stroke and thereby offer a unique opportunity to identify strategies for prevention and rehabilitation to sustain functioning in everyday life for persons with stroke and their families.

Specific questions relevant to rehabilitation of stroke i.e., physical activity, activities in daily living (ADL), life satisfaction, depression, and perceived impact of stroke will be included in the AMBSO database and collected yearly.

During two years we will incorporate new research questions in the database, conduct training workshops for fieldworkers for collecting data and disseminate results.

Further, we aim to develop preventive healthcare policy documents and guidelines including appropriate rehabilitation interventions in relation to low- and middle-income contexts.

With a specific focus on stroke, our team is highly qualified in work towards NCD reduction, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.