Authors:

Hannah McCartney

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Background: Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death and a major cause of disability. Stroke risk is attributed to clinical and behavioral factors, such as high blood pressure , excessive alcohol use, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and physical inactivity. To tre at stroke, a tiered stroke center system has been established to optimize specialized care for treatment of stroke. Despite specialized care, stroke burden and access to care for strok e is not shared equally among rural and urban communities. This project aims to ex amine stroke prevalence within rural and urban Florida counties relative to the availabil ity of stroke centers providing specialized care for stroke. Methods: Stroke-related data f or this project were obtained from the Florida Behavioral Risk Factor System (BRFSS) and the Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) County Rankings. County-level data from both dat a sources were utilized to identify the number of strokes reported in each county. Access to specialized stroke care information were obtained from the Agency for Healthcare Administration Hospital Stroke Programs Report. Linear regression models e valuated the association between county-level rurality vs. stroke prevalence. ArcGIS map ping software was used to map the addresses of the identified stroke centers within th eir respective counties. Results: A statistically significant positive association was fo und between the percentage of rurality and the percentage of adults who have ever been told they have had a stroke at the county level. More specifically, as the percentage of rurality increases within a county, stroke prevalence in the population is also expected to inc rease. Conclusion: Residence (rural vs urban) has a significant impact on stroke preva lence and access to stroke care in Florida counties. Although a significant number of stroke centers exist in urban areas in Florida, less care is available in rural areas.

Source:

University of Florida / Hannah McCartney, Elizabeth Evans, M.S., CCC-SLP, Charles / 2024

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Co-authors:

Hannah McCartney