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The World Health Assembly (WHA) approved the Intersectoral Global Action Plan (IGAP) in 2022. This ambitious project, formally called the Intersectoral Global Action Plan for Epilepsy and Other Neurological Disorders, is a 10-year plan to enhance neurology implementation worldwide and to raise the status of brain health and neurology services for patients with neurological diseases. The IGAP has 5 important components: relation with policy makers, therapy, prophylaxis, research, and public health. The implementation of IGAP is a challenge, not only for the specialty of neurology but for the whole neurological community, encompassing patients, carers, healthcare providers, and the public. The lack of a unified definition of neurology and the great variety of health systems, as well as the dependency on socioeconomic status, will necessitate custom-made solutions in all regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The increasing stroke burden in sub-Saharan Africa far outstrips the availability of skilled human resource to provide timely and efficient acute, rehabilitative and preventive services. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of a short-term task-shifting stroke training program on the stroke knowledge of a cohort of Nigerian non-neurologist health workers (NNHWs). Methods Utilizing a quasi-experimental design, NNHWs drawn from 53 local government areas of Ogun and Oyo states participated in an intensive, multicomponent one-day stroke workshop. Stroke knowledge was evaluated before and after the training using a self-administered questionnaire. Results Out of a total of 210 NNHWs who participated in the session, 116 (55.2%) completed the pre-workshop questionnaire survey of stroke knowledge while 191 (91.0%) completed the post-workshop questionnaire survey. There were no statistically significant differences in the distribution of the age, gender and professional categories of the two groups. The participants' knowledge was significantly increased at the end of the training about stroke risk factors (p < 0.001), stroke symptoms (p < 0.001) and how stroke develops (p = 0.009). The proportion of respondents who understood the FAST mnemonic increased from 10.3% before the training to 90.6% at the end of the training (p < 0.001). The professional category of participants was associated with knowledge gain about swallowing test and thrombolysis. Conclusion Our data support the effectiveness of stroke-specific task-shifting training for non-neurologist health workers in a low resource setting. Interim studies with intermediate outcomes are needed to show that improved knowledge results in better care despite resource limitation. Randomized controlled trials will be useful to confirm findings and translate knowledge improvement into practical intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of neurological disorders exist in low- and middle-income countries, but these nations have the fewest neurologists and neurological training opportunities worldwide. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness, relevance, and feasibility of a five-day neurocritical care course delivered online to African healthcare workers and to understand participants' prior neurological and neurocritical care training experiences. We offered the Neurocritical Care Society's Emergency Neurological Life Support (ENLS) course covering 14 neurocritical conditions via Zoom to 403 African healthcare workers over a 4-day period. An additional day was devoted to management of neurological emergencies in resource-limited settings. Participants completed pre- and post-course surveys to assess the effectiveness, relevance, and feasibility of the overall course to their settings. 318 participants (46% female; 56% residents; 24% neurologists; 9.0 ± 6.7 years practicing medicine) from 11 African countries completed the pre-course self-assessment, and 232 completed the post-course self-assessment. 97% reported prior experience caring for patients with neurological emergencies but only 35% reported prior neurology training and 9% prior neurocritical care training. Pre-course and post-course comfort levels showed statistically significant improvements (p < 0.001) across all fourteen neurocritical topics. 95% of participants found the course relevant to their current practice setting, 94% agreed the Zoom online platform was easy to use, and 93% reported it facilitated their learning. Suggestions for course improvement included addition of non-critical neurological conditions and inclusion of locally available diagnostics and treatment modalities. Study results suggest virtual platforms may offer a way to improve neurology training in areas with reduced neurological workforce. • A virtual neurocritical care course for African healthcare workers was effective. • Course could be improved by including locally available diagnostics and treatment. • Most participants regularly cared for patients with neurological emergencies. • Few participants had formal training in neurology or neurocritical care. • Virtual platforms could improve training in areas with few neurologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: What leadership roles can transnational medical professional societies play in addressing the life long learning needs of health professionals in emerging world? The World Federation of Neurology (WFN) provides neurological education programme in countries with unmet neurological training needs, in an effort to improve the knowledge and skills of neurologists. The WFN''s experience provides a unique study to exemplify how global stakeholders collaborate with each other to deliver CME and to improve the quality of health care services. A multi-stage programme evaluation was undertaken to explore the WFN CME, in an effort to: a) understand how global CME programmes are organized, and b) understand the success factors and the challenges of delivering global CME. The programme evaluation was conducted between June 2005 and March 2006. The preliminary results were shared with the WFN education committee and national coordinators and international experts to check and confirm the findings from the study. The study results reveal that global CME programmes could be designed effectively with minimum costs. These programmes contribute to meeting the continued learning needs of neurologists in resource poor settings. Further, the WFN initiative provides, some initial evidence that these programs can contribute to systems level improvements. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]