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Stroke & neuro
Stroke care gaps for First Nations patients
Epidemiology and Quality of Care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Treated by Emergency Medical Services for Stroke in Victoria, Australia: Retrospective Analysis of Linked Data
The Medical Journal of Australia · 2026-10 · Added 3 October 2026
Victorian linked-data study of 32,163 EMS-attended stroke/TIA patients found First Nations patients had more than double the age-standardised incidence of EMS attendance, were less likely to receive a paramedic stroke assessment (58.2% vs 67.3%) and less often taken to thrombectomy-capable hospitals, though adjusted mortality was similar.
- Study type
- Cohort
- Design
- Retrospective population-based data-linkage cohort
- Participants
- 32,163 EMS-attended stroke/TIA patients (287 First Nations)
- Main finding
- Age-standardised EMS attendance incidence 343 vs 144 per 100,000 person-years (IRR 2.38); paramedic stroke assessment 58.2% vs 67.3%; conveyance to thrombectomy-capable hospitals 24.4% vs 32.7%; adjusted 30- and 90-day mortality similar (HR 0.81 and 0.81)
- Caveat
- Victorian data from 2015–2019 with only 287 First Nations patients, limiting precision and generalisability interstate
- Bottom line
- Context only
Why it matters in Australia (High relevance). Australian population-based data on a disparity every service can act on — paramedic stroke assessment rates are the part most directly in crews' hands.
Learning goal
Understand the barriers contributing to inequitable prehospital stroke assessment and destination decisions for First Nations patients.
More
- Topic: Stroke & neuro
- Daily scan: 3 October 2026
- Podcast: Paramedic Papers Daily, 3 October 2026
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