The Canadian Stroke Systems Coalition is to be congratulated on developing recommendations for creating a systems approach to stroke care in Canada.1 Implementation of the recommendations should considerably reduce Canada's stroke burden.
To better understand the national stroke demographics and to monitor the actual impact of programs and research will require emphasis not only on monitoring of stroke risk factors as proposed by the Canadian Stroke Systems Coalition, but also on surveillance of stroke care, stroke incidence and stroke mortality. National stroke surveillance would allow us to develop an overall picture of stroke in the Canadian population, do time trend analyses, better explore the geographic distribution of stroke and better understand stroke risk and care in important subpopulations.
Such a surveillance system would help to guide policy decisions concerning programs and research for specific populations, in ways that research targeted to the science of the disease generally cannot. We recommend that a national stroke care, incidence and mortality monitoring system be given a high priority as an integral part of a full systems approach to reducing the burden of stroke in Canada.
Signatures
Kenneth C. Johnson
Surveillance and Risk Assessment Division Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control Population and Public Health Branch Health Canada Ottawa, Ont.
Yang Mao
Surveillance and Risk Assessment Division Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control Population and Public Health Branch Health Canada Ottawa, Ont.
Reference
- 1.Wilson E, Taylor G, Phillips S, Stewart PJ, Dickinson G, Ramsden VR, et al, on behalf of the Canadian Stroke Systems Coalition. Creating a Canadian stroke system. CMAJ 2001; 164(13): 1853-5. [PMC free article] [PubMed]