Secondary Prevention After Stroke and TIA: Medication Adherence, Patient Self-Management, and Long-Term Outcomes

Stroke recurrence is largely preventable, yet adherence to secondary prevention therapies remains poor across all populations and healthcare settings. Evidence-based treatments, including anticoagulants, antiplatelets, antihypertensives, and statins, have demonstrated clear efficacy in reducing recurrence risk, but real-world persistence is strikingly low, contributing to avoidable disability and death.The reasons for non-adherence are multifactorial, spanning clinical complexity, system-level barriers, and patient-level factors including health literacy, self-efficacy, and the psychological sequelae of stroke. Post-stroke depression, in particular, is underdiagnosed and undertreated, yet carries a well-documented negative impact on both adherence and functional recovery. Patients with cardioembolic stroke and atrial fibrillation face distinct additional challenges around anticoagulation persistence, with direct implications for recurrence risk.Digital health tools, nurse-led programmes, and structured self-management interventions have shown promise, but evidence remains fragmented. Furthermore, the majority of published data derives from high-income countries, leaving critical gaps in understanding outcomes and intervention effectiveness in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where stroke burden is disproportionately high.This Research Topic aims to consolidate and advance the evidence base on secondary prevention after stroke and TIA, with an emphasis on real-world adherence, patient-centred outcomes, and scalable intervention strategies across diverse populations and healthcare contexts.We would welcome submissions about the following topics, though not limited to:-Prevalence and predictors of non-adherence to secondary prevention therapies after stroke and TIA-Anticoagulation initiation, persistence, and switching patterns in AF-related cardioembolic stroke-Post-stroke depression, anxiety, and cognitive impairment as barriers to self-management-Health literacy, patient activation, and shared decision-making in stroke secondary prevention-Digital health interventions and mobile applications for adherence support and rhythm monitoring-Nurse-led and multidisciplinary models for post-stroke medication management-Transition-of-care programmes from hospital discharge to community follow-up-Secondary stroke prevention in LMICs: barriers, adaptations, and task-shifting models-Sex, gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic disparities in adherence and long-term outcomes-Recurrence rates, functional outcomes, and cost-effectiveness of adherence-enhancing interventions Topic editors: Suebsarn Ruksakulpiwat, Chitchanok Benjasirisan, Patricia Davidson Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/81917/secondary-prevention-after-stroke-and-tia-medication-adherence-patient-self-management-and-long-term-outcomes