University of Ghana Medical School, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Ghana.
Stroke Unit, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Ghana.
West Afr J Med. 2022 Jun 24;39(6):641-645.
Substantial gaps remain in our understanding of stroke in Africa as well as in stroke care, practice and policy on the continent. The effective organization of preventative, therapeutic and rehabilitative stroke services continue to be challenging in many African countries.
In this article we define the nature, function and benefits of effective multidisciplinary team (MDT) working. The experiences and perspectives of members of the MDT were collated by focus group discussions as well as individual and country specific contributions.
The experiences and perspectives of multidisciplinary team members from the United Kingdom and Ghana implementing these practices at the first stroke unit in Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, with a transparent discussion of successes and challenges faced throughout development of the service, is presented. MDT working has improved outcomes for patients and families who use the services, including encouraging better shared treatment planning and compliance. More stroke rehabilitation services are provided than previously, including greater self-management education and better secondary prevention care.
It is hoped that this article will provide an inspirational model for others working to provide stroke care in low-resource settings in Africa and worldwide.
我们对非洲的中风以及该大陆的中风护理、实践和政策仍然存在很大的理解差距。在许多非洲国家，有效的预防、治疗和康复中风服务的组织仍然具有挑战性。
在本文中，我们定义了有效的多学科团队（MDT）工作的性质、功能和益处。通过焦点小组讨论以及来自英国和加纳的 MDT 成员的个人和国家特定贡献，收集了 MDT 成员的经验和观点。
介绍了来自英国和加纳的多学科团队成员在阿克拉科勒布教学医院的第一家中风病房实施这些实践的经验和观点，包括在服务发展过程中面临的成功和挑战的透明讨论。MDT 工作改善了使用这些服务的患者及其家属的预后，包括鼓励更好的共同治疗计划和更高的依从性。提供了比以前更多的中风康复服务，包括更多的自我管理教育和更好的二级预防护理。
希望本文能为在资源匮乏的非洲和全球范围内努力提供中风护理的其他人提供一个鼓舞人心的模式。
