Need for Research on Social Determinants of Health for Stroke Outcomes: Ralph Sacco, MD, MS, FAAN, FAHA
The chair of neurology and Olemberg Family Chair of Neurological Disorders at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine detailed the reasons behind the lack of research on social determinants of health on stroke outcomes.
"We can tell everybody about the right diet, but if they can’t get to the right places to buy the right food, that’s an issue. Access to healthy food delivery areas are important. We can tell people to exercise, but if you live in an urban area where there’s no places to walk safely or a park, that’s a problem.”
Initial findings from the Transitions of Care Stroke Disparities Study highlighted possible mechanisms of action by which education, economic conditions, and psychosocial factors may influence stroke severity and disability after stroke. The data, presented at the American Stroke Association’s
In the abstract presented, the authors note that SDH are major contributors to stroke incidence and disparities, but their relationship with these outcomes is relatively unexplored. Ralph Sacco, MD, MS, FAAN, FAHA, who was among those involved with the study, claims that there has been an increased interest in SDH, but collecting data on it has been difficult to this point.
Sacco, chair of neurology and Olemberg Family Chair of Neurological Disorders at the
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