WHO Systematic Assessment of Rehabilitation Situation (STARS): A systematic review on the status of stroke rehabilitation in India

AbstractPurpose of reviewTo provide a 'Systematic Assessment of the Rehabilitation Situation' (STARS) on stroke rehabilitation in India in accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO) STARS guidelines. Understanding the current status will help in planning of future policy and development activities.Recent FindingsThe available stroke rehabilitation data from India is deficient. While the incidence of stroke is 33 to 295.9 per year per 100,000 people (in a country of 1.2 billion), there are about 1000 physiatrists and only 150 designated rehabilitation facilities. Among them almost 40% patients are moderate to severely disabled and around 50% patients are spastic. The pooled prevalence of dysphagia was 47.71%. Lack of standardised data, referral system, information gaps, and resources hinder stroke rehabilitation in India. Predominantly uni-disciplinary stroke units are clustered in metropolitan cities and tertiary centres. They are nearly absent at secondary and primary healthcare facilities. Integrating rehabilitation into health care system will improve stroke rehabilitation in India.SummaryStroke rehabilitation infrastructure in India is a work in progress, but structured planning is needed to make WHO rehabilitation for all a reality by 2030.
Source: Current Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Reports - Category: Rehabilitation Source Type: research