Multiple Organized Systems for Engaging Stroke (MOSES)

Despite decades of national declines in stroke incidence, racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in stroke prevalence and care remain pervasive and the gap in these disparities is widening. Those who identify as African American (AA) or Hispanic are 2-3 times more likely to have a stroke when compared to those who identify as non-Hispanic White (NHW) and are also less likely to receive guideline-based medical therapy (e.g. mechanical thrombectomy, intravenous thrombolysis, discharge antithrombotic/anticoagulant, smoking cessation education) after their stroke. Additionally, people living in underserved communities with high local social deprivation indices and decreased community-level healthcare access, have an increased population-level risk of stroke. These inequities are likely multi-factorial and in large part related to decreased access to health promotion and preventive care services, as well as social/economic constraints impeding patients' access and compliance with medical treatment recommendations. Innovations in patient-facing digital health technologies, such as telemedicine, remote patient monitoring (RPM), and patient-facing smart phone applications could help bridge the gaps in post stroke care in marginalized communities by providing more accessible, convenient and perhaps effective, health care services. A recent secondary stroke prevention trial with predominantly African American and Hispanic participants compared blood pressure control measured by RPM combined with telehealth support vs. standard office-based follow up and found improved adherence and risk factor control in the digitally assisted group. However, there is limited knowledge around the patient and provider-level barriers, and supportive and educational resources needed to translating these and other similar findings into practice, especially in high-risk communities. Importantly, the same barriers to adopting digitally assisted care delivery during transitions of care and in the management of high-risk groups are shared across a number of episodic (e.g. ACS), acute on chronic (e.g. asthma, COPD, heart failure, DKA) and chronic diseases (e.g. hypertension, renal failure).