ArticlePloS one2025
Practitioner, patient and public views on the acceptability of mobile stroke units in England and Wales: A mixed methods study.
Article in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Health Economic & Implementation Determinants of Prehospital Stroke Triage Tools: A Systematic Review.Journal of evaluation in clinical practice · 2026Pooled it
- Modelling the potential clinical benefit of mobile stroke units in England.BMC emergency medicine · 2025Article
- Co-design of a Mobile Stroke Unit pathway highlights uncertainties and trade-offs for viable system-wide implementation in the English and Welsh NHS.BMC emergency medicine · 2025Article
- Usability testing a web application to support evidence-based commissioning decisions for implementing mobile stroke units.NPJ digital medicine · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
16 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEvidence for Mobile Stroke Units (MSUs) demonstrates that onset to treatment times for intravenous thrombolysis can be reduced and access to mechanical thrombectomy might be improved. Despite growing use of MSUs internationally, to date there have been no studies in NHS England and NHS Wales exploring the acceptability of MSUs to clinicians, patient and public representatives and other key stakeholders, which are important when considering potential feasibility and implementation.
methodsThis study used a mixed methods design with a cross-sectional survey and qualitative workshops and interviews between October 2023 to May 2024. Survey data were collected from clinicians involved in emergency stroke care. Qualitative data involved clinical and non-clinical professionals involved in stroke care alongside patient and public representatives with experience of stroke. Survey data were descriptively analysed while content analysis was used on open-ended questions. Qualitative data were thematically analysed, prior to triangulation using a convergent coding matrix.
resultsThe study results, drawn from 25 respondents to the survey and 21 participants in qualitative workshops, found that almost all participants had positive affective attitudes to the concept of MSUs. However, several key areas of concern were identified that need to be addressed prior to implementing MSUs. These concerns included how MSUs would be staffed; whether and how telemedicine could contribute; the types of economic impacts; extent to which triage systems could accurately identify stroke patients for MSUs to attend; where the base location and geographic coverage of MSUs should be, the impact of MSUs on equitable access to stroke care, and how to improve public awareness of MSUs.
conclusionWhilst MSUs are mostly acceptable to key stakeholders, numerous areas of concern need to be addressed prior to MSU implementation. We recommend further research to address these issues prior to implementation in the NHS.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.