REGIONS Care research project - Reducing Ethnic and Geographic Inequity to Optimise New Zealand Stroke Care
Principle Investigator: A/Prof Anna Ranta, University of Otago
Research Study Coordinator: Stephanie Thompson, stephanie.thompson@ccdhb.org.nz
Purpose of the Study
REGIONS Care is a nationwide project monitoring stroke care provided to people admitted to hospital with stroke. The purpose of the project is to assess whether patients with stroke receive best practice stroke care across New Zealand and how this impacts patient outcome. Specifically the aims of the project are to:
Assess the impact of DHB size and geographic location on stroke service access and outcomes
Assess the impact of ethnicity on stroke service access and outcomes
Identify service access barriers and potential solutions
Assess cost efficacy of stroke interventions and of a national stroke register, and
Assess the validity of routinely collected health administrative data.
Design of the Project
There are several parts to this project:
1. Nationwide stroke audit - involves all patients admitted to hospital over a 3 - 6 month period, beginning 1 May 2018. As part of the audit, patients will receive a follow up call / appointment at 3 months post stroke as part of routine care.
2. Organisational survey of stroke services at NZ hospitals.
3. Observational study assessing longer term outcomes of patients with stroke. This involves follow up fphone calls at 6 and 12 months post stroke to check on patient recovery. The phone calls are made by the research team who are all registered health professionals who will ask questions about the patient's physical function and general well-being. Any health concerns identified will be passed on to the relevant local health professional with patient consent.
4. An online survey of patients, carers, health professionals and policy makers exploring barriers and solutions to accessing stroke care.
5. Focus groups with patients and carers to explore barriers and solutions to accessing stroke care.
6. Linking data collected by the hospital team with health administrative data already routinely collected by other government agencies. This is to assess the validity of the health administrative data.