Stroke care in Nigeria: Current challenges and future directions- A Scoping Review

ABSTRACT Introduction Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability in Nigeria, with high prevalence, late presentation, and limited access to specialised care, and although much work has been done and still ongoing on this crucial aspect, significant gaps exist in prevention, management, and assessment of the overall readiness of the health sector. This scoping review protocol thus serves to highlight a systematic mapping of the insight into current challenges and future directions in stroke care across Nigeria. Methods and Analysis The review will follow the Arksey and O’Malley methodological framework and will be reported according to the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Searches will be conducted in PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, African Journals Online (AJOL), and some grey-literature sources. Two independent reviewers will screen titles/abstracts and full texts on Rayyan, extract data using a charting method on Google Sheets or Excel, and resolve discrepancies by either a group deliberation or a third reviewer. Data will be synthesised narratively and presented in tables. Ethics and Dissemination Ethics approval would not be required as only publicly available literature will be reviewed. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication in the Journal of Osun State University Medical Students. Key Words or Phrases Current Challenges; Future directions; Nigeria; Scoping review; Stroke care