Background: While 43% of people who have a stroke in Australia are working age adults, most young adults with stroke find services to be disjointed or inappropriate for their needs. Many clinicians have also reported that they cannot adequately meet the needs of young adults with stroke; however, comprehensive service maps are lacking.
Aims: To identify and characterise services in the community for young adults post-stroke as part of a 5-year project developing a new Young Stroke Service.
Methods: Victorian, South Australian or national rehabilitation and allied health services were identified through a systematic search of previous publications, the National Health Service Directory, professional association provider listings, and the Stroke Foundation. Information on service design and delivery characteristics were collected through desktop audit and key informant interviews.
Results: 466 services from 239 organisations were included, 278 (60%) of which were in Victoria. Services were predominantly multidisciplinary (60%), physiotherapy (25%) or psychology services (10%). Less than half of services (44%) had neurological rehabilitation programs or staff with specialist training. While 43% of the 323 key informants that reported staff were very confident working with young adults post-stroke, only 33% reported that most or all clinical staff had communication accessibility training. All but four of the 323 key informants indicated that their clinicians would want further training on young adult stroke rehabilitation. Most preferred training through online webinars (61%), followed by in person training (33%), mentorship or a community of practice (30%), and written materials (28%).
Conclusion: Expert services for young adults post-stroke are lacking. To better meet young adults’ needs post-stroke the new Young Stroke Service will help to provide timely support and referrals to the expert services in the community identified in this study.