Rural outreach education increased thrombolysis rates by 146% in African-American and 147% in White patients, highlighting improved access to stroke care.
Does rural outreach education combined with telestroke services increase the utilization of intravenous thrombolytics across different racial and age groups in rural populations?
Targeted rural stroke awareness campaigns paired with telestroke services are associated with substantially increased thrombolysis rates across all racial groups.
Absolute Event Rate: 0% vs 0%
Background: Racial and age-related disparities in stroke incidence and treatment access remain significant in rural states. Since 2019, the UAMS Institute for Digital Health for 2020–2024, age differences between races were statistically significant (F=16.42, p<0.0001). Mean ages also differed significantly by gender across races (p=0.0009), with variation in direction and magnitude by race group. Conclusions: Rural stroke awareness campaigns coincided with increased thrombolysis across all racial groups, with particularly notable gains among African-American and Hispanic patients. Pairing telestroke services with targeted community outreach may improve equity in acute stroke care by fostering earlier hospital arrival and greater access to time-sensitive interventions.
Brown et al. (Thu,) reported a other. Rural outreach education increased thrombolysis rates by 146% in African-American and 147% in White patients, highlighting improved access to stroke care.