Rehabilitation has been identified by the World Stroke Organisation (WSO) as a key priority to reduce the global burden of stroke, which affects 1 in 4 people during their lifetime globally.
However, global access to stroke rehabilitation is inconsistent and is particularly limited in low-and-middle-income countries. To improve this gap, the WSO certification program, which commenced in 2021 and initially focused on acute interventions, has now expanded to include a rehabilitation certification program.
Associate Professor Elizabeth Lynch, a rehabilitation researcher at Flinders University’s College of Health and Enablement, is a prominent member of the WSO international team overseeing the implementation of globally-applicable, evidence-based, stroke rehabilitation recommendations.
This team has produced a new international rehabilitation certification program and consensus-based recommendations on how to engage with stroke survivors in stroke-related resources. Publication of the certification program is supported by freely available resources that will assist with implementation of the recommendations.
“We anticipate the recommendations in this program will have a big impact on the way stroke care is delivered and how research is conducted,” says Associate Professor Lynch, who is senior author of the paper published the International Journal of Stroke.
Associate Professor Lynch is among 24 international authors of this initiative to improve stroke rehabilitation delivery internationally through recommendations and processes that can be used by centres in low-middle income countries, as well as high-income countries.
The WSO Rehabilitation Certification Program will create a process to certify stroke rehabilitation centres. “It’s a rigorous process to identify evidence-based criteria and process to evaluate rehabilitation service delivery at international sites.”
The classification will identify three separate tiers: Basic, for sites in low-resource settings that are just getting started; Essential, for middle-resource settings; and Advanced, for high resource settings.
At present, there are no internationally agreed markers of how to deliver stroke rehabilitation. This program can be used by rehabilitation services in low- and middle-income and high-income countries to evaluate service delivery.
Associate Professor Lynch says this will support multidisciplinary teams to provide improved care to the patient.
It identifies areas of strength and where improvements are required, and the implementation manual (available as a supplementary file) can be used by rehabilitation service staff to guide exactly how to deliver the evidence-based recommendations.
“The WSO rehabilitation recommendations incorporate the most current evidence and has been refined after pilot testing, and will help to advance international stroke rehabilitation delivery.”
The research – “World Stroke Organization (WSO) rehabilitation certification program”, by Sean, Savitz, Jessica Nolan, Kwah Li Khim, Shamala Thilarajah, Dorcas Gandhi, Jussara Oliveira Baggio, Marina Charalambous, Fiona Rowe, Marie-Louise Bird, Nevine El Nahas, Sanjana Gururaj, Patricia Meier, Sharon Ignacio, Jeyaraj Pandian, Rachel Stockley, Julie Bernhardt, Sheila Martins, Gillian Mead, Simiao Wu, Norhayati Hussein, Emily Stevens, Thoshenthri Kandasamy and Elizabeth Lynch – has been published in International Journal of Stroke. https://doi.org/10.1177/17474930261463019
International Journal of Stroke
Commentary/editorial
Not applicable
World Stroke Organization (WSO) rehabilitation certification program
2-Jul-2026