A neuroepidemiological survey in rural Bolivia: background and methods.

A door-to-door survey was carried out in rural areas of the Cordillera province, Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia. A cluster sample of 10,124 inhabitants was selected. The aim was to determine the prevalence of the most common neurological diseases (epilepsy, stroke, parkinsonism and peripheral neuropathy) in this population using a modification of the World Health Organization screening instrument. 1,130 subjects screened positive and were then investigated by neurologists. In this paper we describe the background and methods of the survey and the characteristics of the population.