Table 2 The main themes with an additional supplementary supporting quote

Politics, leadership, and governance

None of this can be implemented if you don’t involve the government. This is how it works, at least in the lower-middle-income countries that not everything can be done by the NGOs [non-governmental organizations] or by public support. It has to come from the administration or the country’s head of the government. (PRM physician, Pakistan)

Increasing knowledge and awareness of rehabilitation

I think it would be good for professionals … to be an expert in that area increasing awareness in the public, within families, and education allowing to integrate the patients more easily into the communities and within their home environments. I mean just providing a better quality of life for them (SLT, United Arab Emirates)

Financing stroke rehabilitation

Changing the insurance options for the patient and not only government funding can positively affect rehabilitation (PRM physician, Turkey)

Workforce development

Having a case manager or caregiver, somebody who made sure the patient connected with their doctors and their therapists and gave simple advice that they need, things like that. That would be useful. It’s not really hard to find it. We don’t have the mechanism right now to have somebody paid to do that. (Neurologist, USA)

Physical resources and infrastructure

Then also the infrastructure. It doesn’t have to be high tech equipment being donated, but we need to be able to adapt because we can’t constantly rely on developing countries to provide everything. (PRM physician, Ghana).

Community services and reintegration

You can improve quality of life for the patient and help the family if the patient can come back (to) their work, they can get money, or they can (be) less dependent in ADL’s [Activities of daily living] (PT/OT, Vietnam)