Abstract
Background
Child neurology in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) faces persistent disparities in workforce capacity, subspecialty training, and structured mentorship. To address these gaps, the Child Neurology Society International Affairs Committee (CNS-IAC) launched a 2-phase initiative to identify regional needs and develop SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time bound) goals and action plans.
Objective
To identify educational and clinical priorities of child neurologists practicing in LMICs and translate these findings into region-specific SMART goals and action plans.
Methods
A mixed method study was conducted in 2 phases. Phase 1 (2024) used a de novo Qualtrics survey reviewed by the international child neurology experts. The survey assessed 12 clinical domains, preferred educational resources, and open-ended needs. Phase 2 (2025) consisted of structured regional working groups at the CNS Annual Meeting, where participants codeveloped SMART action plans through facilitated discussion and iterative refinement.
Results
A total of 48 clinicians from 18 LMICs contributed to phase 1 of the initiative
Conclusions
The CNS-IAC model provides a practical, scalable framework for moving from needs assessment to regionally driven action to strengthen child neurology capacity in LMICs.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
