Publications by authors named "Jan Van der Merwe"
Article Synopsis
- The QASC Australia trial showed that nurse-led protocols for managing fever, sugar levels, and swallowing (FeSS Protocols) can reduce deaths and disabilities after a stroke, prompting a larger study in Europe involving 64 hospitals across 17 countries to evaluate the scalability of these protocols.
- The implementation process was supported by a multi-stakeholder framework that included academic partners and the Angels Initiative, a non-profit organization focused on promoting evidence-based stroke care.
- A qualitative evaluation was conducted through interviews with various stakeholders to identify factors affecting the engagement and implementation of the FeSS Protocols, revealing three main themes regarding the challenges and facilitators of this process.
Background: Globally, the majority of strokes affect people residing in lower- and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs), but translating evidence-based knowledge into clinical practice in regions with limited healthcare resources remains challenging. As an LMIC in South Asia, stroke care has remained a healthcare problem previously unaddressed at a national scale in Nepal. The Nepal Stroke Project (NSP) aims to improve acute stroke care in the tertiary healthcare sector of Nepal.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: In this work we present the results of the implementation of a globally representative educational school-based stroke awareness programme, FAST (Face, Arm, Speech, Time) Heroes during the second year of education (wave 2). We aimed to observe changes in baseline stroke knowledge between wave 1 and wave 2, distinguish the more fine-grained effect of the campaign on society, and evaluate changes before and after the implementation of wave 2.
Materials And Methods: In wave 2, parents of school-aged children completed an online stroke preparedness questionnaire before (t1) and after (t2) programme implementation.
The rate of stroke-related death and disability is four times higher in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) than in high-income countries (HICs), yet stroke units exist in only 18% of LMICs, compared with 91% of HICs. In order to ensure universal and equitable access to timely, guideline-recommended stroke care, multidisciplinary stroke-ready hospitals with coordinated teams of healthcare professionals and appropriate facilities are essential.Established in 2016, the Angels Initiative is an international, not-for-profit, public-private partnership.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- - Poor adherence to stroke care guidelines is a global issue, but the QASC trial showed that nurse-led implementation can significantly improve patient outcomes like death and disability.
- - A multi-country study from 2017 to 2021 assessed the effectiveness of the FeSS Protocol across 64 hospitals, revealing substantial improvements in the care elements related to fever, hyperglycemia, and swallowing.
- - The successful rollout of the FeSS Protocol across diverse healthcare systems demonstrated that both high-income and middle-income countries could achieve similar enhancements in stroke care practices.
Background: Educating the at-risk population about stroke symptoms and requirement of calling an ambulance when stroke strikes is challenging. This exploratory cross-country study provides insights to the FAST Heroes educational campaign and outcomes hitherto achieved.
Aims: The primary aim of the study was to measure the transfer of stroke-related knowledge to parents after a global school-based FAST Heroes educational campaign for 5- to 9-year-old children in 14 different countries.