Interventions that Remove Barriers to Secondary Stroke Prevention Behaviours Among Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Populations: A Scoping Review Protocol

Background and rationale

Stroke survivors are at high risk for subsequent cardiovascular events (population). However, secondary prevention behaviours like medication adherence, smoking cessation, diet modification, and increasing physical activity (concept) remain suboptimal, especially among socioeconomically disadvantaged groups (context). Disparities in stroke outcomes have been found for those living in economically deprived areas. Understanding the barriers to prevention behaviours in these populations, and strategies that have been used to address them, is needed to inform interventions to reduce inequities in secondary stroke prevention. A scoping review is well-suited to examine the extent, range and nature of research on this topic, summarise findings, and identify gaps in the evidence.

Research Question

What are the interventions that remove barriers to secondary stroke prevention behaviours (concept) among stroke and Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) survivors (population) in socioeconomically deprived settings (context)?