What are the factors that determine access to acute stroke care?
Various factors have been identified that influence the access to acute stroke care. These include the patient's knowledge of stroke, the availability of hospital resources, and the timeliness of care. Studies have shown that patient knowledge of stroke does not influence time-to-hospital presentation (Cheung, 2001). Other factors that influence access to acute stroke care include the availability of hospital resources, such as stroke units and access to specialized medical personnel, as well as the timeliness of care (Menon et al., 1998; Moser et al., 2006). Additionally, gender can also influence access to acute stroke care, as studies have shown that women may have better access to healthcare than men (Kapral et al., 2005; Niewada et al., 2005; Olsen et al., 2007; Pajunen et al., 2005).  