Reader response: Preserving stroke care during the COVID-19 pandemic: Potential issues and solutions
VaitsaGiannouli, PhD, Institute of Neurobiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
NikolaosSyrmos, PhD, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Submitted July 23, 2020
We read the article by Leira et al.1 with interest. Although the aim of preserving stroke care during the COVID-19 pandemic raises a number of issues for theoretical as well as empirical research, healthcare professionals must keep in mind that apart from the data that are now collected on the purely medical-biological aspects of stroke care and COVID-19, there are also existing cross-cultural differences in patients’ as well as healthcare professionals’ knowledge, beliefs, and/or behaviors that may play an important role2 and eventually determine the way(s) that the three proposed general principles are perceived, socially constructed, and deconstructed not only by individuals and local communities—who are the users-recipients of health services—but also by governments and other healthcare institutions.3 The influence and importance of the socio-cultural factors on the existing in-use protocols should be incorporated in future attempts to examine this issue.
Disclosure
The authors report no relevant disclosures. Contact journal@neurology.org for full disclosures.
References
Leira EC, Russman AN, Biller J, et al. Preserving stroke care during the COVID-19 pandemic: Potential issues and solutions. Neurology 2020;95:124–133.
Li Z, Jongbloed L, and Dean E. Stroke-related knowledge, beliefs, and behaviours of Chinese and European Canadians: Implications for physical therapists. Physiother Can 2014;66:187–196.
Sanuade O. Understanding the cultural meanings of stroke in the Ghanaian setting: A qualitative study exploring the perspectives of local community residents. Wellcome Open Res 2018;3:87.
We read the article by Leira et al.1 with interest. Although the aim of preserving stroke care during the COVID-19 pandemic raises a number of issues for theoretical as well as empirical research, healthcare professionals must keep in mind that apart from the data that are now collected on the purely medical-biological aspects of stroke care and COVID-19, there are also existing cross-cultural differences in patients’ as well as healthcare professionals’ knowledge, beliefs, and/or behaviors that may play an important role2 and eventually determine the way(s) that the three proposed general principles are perceived, socially constructed, and deconstructed not only by individuals and local communities—who are the users-recipients of health services—but also by governments and other healthcare institutions.3 The influence and importance of the socio-cultural factors on the existing in-use protocols should be incorporated in future attempts to examine this issue.
Disclosure
The authors report no relevant disclosures. Contact journal@neurology.org for full disclosures.
References