Non-biomedical Stroke Practitioners in Aceh: Panorama

Introduction Research indicates that stroke can be most effectively managed in defined units with a multidisciplinary team of specialist personnel. 1 Such resources are limited in low and middle income countries, where the rate and burden of stroke is increasing most rapidly. 2 This imbalance has resulted in calls to develop more stroke units 3 , and include local or traditional services within rehabilitation. 4,5 However, very little is known about the non-biomedical stroke services that are currently available in these regions. The few studies available illustrate some important areas for consideration. One is that non-biomedical practitioners are regularly consulted by stroke survivors, often in preference to biomedical resources. 6,7