iPASTAR-Improving Pathways for Acute STroke And Rehabilitation

Stroke is a disease of enormous global significance. It is a major cause of death and the commonest form of acquired physical disability in adults. Fragmentation of care results in inadequate coordination of the fundamental components of acute stroke care and fails to provide an effective integrated system for acute and rehabilitative stroke treatment.

This Structured Doctoral Training Programme seeks to advance an evidence-based and cost-effective stroke pathway, supported by a consortium of national and international experienced interdisciplinary stroke academic researchers, clinicians, stroke patients and PhD educators. The programme seeks to:

Identify and address current barriers and enhance facilitators in the pathway of acute stroke care to improve survival and minimise long-term disability.
Describe supports for seamless transitions of care across the continuum of early supported discharge and develop an intervention to maximise these transitions of care.
Identify optimal behavioural interventions in secondary prevention to maintain wellness following stroke and minimise recurrent vascular events.
Characterise and evaluate cost-effectiveness of models of healthcare organisational change required to maximise quality of care.

The iPASTAR programme will equip a cohort of PhD trainees with skills in a wide range of research methodologies focussed on the generation of evidence and development of cost-effective patient-focused interventions to improve patient care and outcomes. The consortium includes stroke patients as core and associate partners, and senior interdisciplinary academics and clinicians from a range of backgrounds to provide for PhD trainees an appropriate blend of expert programme management, supervision and peer support with an opportunity for national and international placements.

This programme will generate a cohort of post-doctoral researchers with transferrable skills who can make significant future impact across a range of settings with necessary expertise in the generation of research evidence to support cost-effective management of stroke and other chronic conditions.

Award Date: 11 November 2019
Award Value: €1,499,996.13
Principal Investigator: Professor David Williams
Host Institution: Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
Scheme: Collaborative Doctoral Awards