Outcomes for stroke patients set to improve

Dr Monique Kilkenny

Researchers at the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health are analysing national data on patients with stroke for the first time to improve patient outcomes.

Senior Research Officer in the Stroke and Ageing Research Group Dr Monique Kilkenny has been awarded an Australian Public Health and Health Services Fellowship to investigate the variation in clinical care and outcomes of patients with stroke in Australia.

“Stroke is a major cause of death and disability and evidence-based stroke care is proven to reduce death and disability and is cost effective,” said Dr Kilkenny.  

According to the 2013 National Stroke Foundation Acute Services Report, evidence-based care is not always provided in clinical practice and up to 40% of patients do not receive treatments proven to be effective.

“Adherence to guidelines by medical practitioners is variable, ranging from 7% for thrombolysis to 94% for ECG on admission, and this disparity in adherence is concerning, as variation in clinical care has been shown to affect patient outcomes,” said Dr Kilkenny.

“In addition, there is limited research on variation in clinical practice and the consequences of outcomes for specific sub-groups, for example non-English speaking background or young adults with stroke.”

Dr Kilkenny’s project will describe the gaps in clinical stroke care in hospitals and determine if these are associated with differences in outcomes for specific sub-groups.

“For the first time, we will analyse a national linked dataset, including 40 hospitals and 17,000 patients to understand the continuum of stroke care including emergency presentations and admission episodes.”

“I will use the outcomes of this research to inform the design of future interventions to reduce variations in care delivery, and reduced deaths, disability and recurrent strokes through improvements in stroke care,” added Dr Kilkenny.

Dr Kilkenny has personally seen how a stroke can affect individuals and families.

“Stroke can happen at any age including in-utero—this grant enables me to undertake epidemiological and health services research to provide important evidence to improve the quality of life of stroke survivors and reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease in the community.”  

Dr Kilkenny would like to acknowledge and thank Head, Translational Public Health and Evaluation Division, Associate Professor Dominique Cadilhac; Head, Epidemiology and Prevention Division Professor Amanda Thrift; and the research staff in the Translational Public Health and Evaluation Division for their ongoing support.