Platform Presentation The Joint Annual Meeting of the Stroke Society of Australasia (SSA) and Smartstrokes 2023

STOPstroke - A community-based research priority setting project for stroke prevention (#43)

Christine Farmer 1 , Gemma Kitsos 1 , Sabah Rehman 1 , Hoang Phan 1 2 , Seamus Barker 1 , Brenda Booth 3 , Amanda Thrift 4 , Judy Katzenellenbogen 5 , Mark Nelson 1 , Timothy Kleinig 6 , Valery Feigin 7 , Dominique Cadilhac 4 8 , Lee Nedkoff 5 , Joosup Kim 4 , Seana Gall 1 4
  1. Menzies Institute for Medical Research, Hobart, TAS, Australia
  2. Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory
  3. STOPstroke, Hobart, Tasmania
  4. Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  5. University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia
  6. Central Adelaide Local Health Network, Adelaide, South Australia
  7. NISAN, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand
  8. Florey Institute for Neurosciences and Mental Health, Melbourne, Victoria

Background:

As part of Synergies TO Prevent stroke (STOPstroke), a NHMRC Synergy Grant focused on stroke prevention, we did a consumer-led research priority setting project to guide our program of research.

 

Aim: To create priorities for stroke prevention research identified by the community.

 

Methods:

The project had four parts: (i) online survey asking ‘What 3 questions about preventing stroke would you like to see answered by researchers?’; (ii) checking responses against evidence (systematic reviews, meta-analyses, clinical guidelines) to identify research gaps; (iii) second online survey for interim prioritisation of questions (1 [not important] to 5 [very important]); (iv) online workshop to determine top 10 priorities.

 

Results: Across Australia and New Zealand, 375 people submitted ~750 questions in the first survey (September-November 2021). From this, n=134 summary questions were checked against evidence with 47 questions identified as research gaps. Most of the 600 excluded questions were about stroke risk factors for which there is substantial evidence – blood pressure, physical activity, diet and lifestyle. The second online prioritisation survey (May-June 2022, n=97 responses) resulted in 24 highly-rated questions. The online workshop (August 2022) was attended by 14 participants (four with lived experience of stroke, four general community members, four health professionals, two researchers). Consensus was reached on the top question, namely ‘In people that have not had a stroke, how we can improve the early detection and measurement of stroke risk?’. No consensus was reached on the remaining ‘top 9’ due to diverse priorities across breakout groups. Participants suggested a thematic grouping of all questions, resulting in 22 questions under behavioural, pharmacological/clinical, structural, policy, individual or population themes. To encompass the many priorities identified about specific target groups, we recommend that future research explore the role of age, gender, geography, and ethnicity.

 

Conclusion: These priorities will be disseminated to ensure future stroke prevention research meets the needs of the community.