02481nas a2200289   4500000000100000008004100001100001800042700001900060700002200079700001900101700001900120700002000139700002000159700001900179700002000198700001800218700001700236700001000253700002000263700001600283700001800299245006800317300001200385490000700397520177300404022001402177       2017                            d1 aMeretoja Atte1 aSato Shoichiro1 aAcciarresi Monica1 aAkinyemi Rufus1 aCampbell Bruce1 aDowlatshahi Dar1 aEnglish Coralie1 aHenninger Nils1 aPoppe Alexandre1 aPutaala Jukka1 aSaini Monica1 aWu Bo1 aBrainin Michael1 aNorrving Bo1 aDavis Stephen00aStroke doctors: Who are we? A World Stroke Organization survey.  a858-8680 v123 a<p>Background Specialist training provides skilled workforce for service delivery. Stroke medicine has evolved rapidly in the past years. No prior information exists on background or training of stroke doctors globally. Aims To describe the specialties that represent stroke doctors, their training requirements, and the scientific organizations ensuring continuous medical education. Methods The World Stroke Organization conducted an expert survey between June and November 2014 using e-mailed questionnaires. All Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries with >1 million population and other countries with >50 million population were included ( n = 49, total 5.6 billion inhabitants, 85% of global strokes). Two stroke experts from each selected country were surveyed, discrepancies resolved, and further information on identified stroke-specific curricula sought. Results We received responses from 48 (98%) countries. Of ischemic stroke patients, 64% were reportedly treated by neurologists, ranging from 5% in Ireland to 95% in the Netherlands. Per thousand annual strokes there were average six neurologists, ranging from 0.3 in Ethiopia to 33 in Israel. Of intracerebral hemorrhage patients, 29% were reportedly treated by neurosurgeons, ranging from 5% in Sweden to 79% in Japan, with three neurosurgeons per thousand strokes, ranging from 0.1 in Ethiopia to 24 in South Korea. Most countries had a stroke society (86%) while only 10 (21%) had a degree or subspecialty for stroke medicine. Conclusions Stroke doctor numbers, background specialties, and opportunities to specialize in stroke vary across the globe. Most countries have a scientific society to pursue advancement of stroke medicine, but few have stroke curricula.</p>  a1747-4949