Anna Matheson

Non-communicable disease prevention in Nepal: systemic challenges and future directions:

Developing countries such as Nepal are experiencing a double burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) resulting in social and economic losses. In Nepal, more than half of the disease burden is due to NCDs. The major NCDs in Nepal are cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes. Behavioural factors such as tobacco use, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity and unhealthy diet are driving the epidemic of NCDs, which are further influenced by social, economic and environmental determinants. The health system of Nepal has not been able to address the ever-increasing burden of NCDs. With the formulation of the Multisectoral Action Plan for Prevention and Control of NCDs 2014–2020, there has been some hope for tackling the NCDs and their social determinants in Nepal through a primary prevention approach. This paper discusses the systemic challenges and recommends two key actions for the prevention and control of NCDs in Nepal.

Pasifika Youth Empowerment Programme: a potential public health approach in tackling obesity-health related issues:

In New Zealand, the burden of obesity is greatest among Pacific people. However, targeted prevention strategies among Pacific communities are needed to learn about how to partner with indigenous groups to successfully apply such strategies. The aim of this study was to pilot the Pasifika Youth Empowerment Programme (YEP), which consisted of five interactive learning modules, among 15 Pasifika youth (18–24 years) from Wellington, New Zealand. This article describes the YEP methodology, to understand how to address obesity-related issues for Pasifika youth. At the completion of the YEP, the participants identified three causes of obesity relevant to Pasifika youth and developed preventative action plans targeting these causes: (a) poor diet, (b) lack of education, and (c) lack of physical activity. This study highlights that capacity and capability development of young people in understanding the key issues related to obesity is important to champion culturally acceptable strategies.

Social determinants of common metabolic risk factors (high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high body mass index and high waist-hip ratio) of major non-communicable diseases in South Asia region: a systematic review protocol

BackgroundPrevalence of non-communicable diseases has been increasing at a greater pace in developing countries and, in particular, the South Asia region. Various behavioral, social and environmental factors present in this region perpetuate common metabolic risk factors of non-communicable diseases. This study will identify social determinants of common metabolic risk factors of major non-communicable diseases in the context of the South Asian region and map their causal pathway.MethodsA systematic review of selected articles will be carried out following Cochrane guidelines. Review will be guided by Social Determinants of Health Framework developed by the World Health Organization to extract social determinants of metabolic risk factors of non-communicable diseases from studies. A distinct search strategy will be applied using key words to screen relevant studies from online databases. Primary and grey literature published from the year 2000 to 2016 and studies with discussion on proximal and distal determinants of non-communicable risk factors among adults of the South Asia region will be selected. They will be further checked for quality, and a matrix illustrating contents of selected articles will be developed. Thematic content analysis will be done to trace social determinants and their interaction with metabolic risk factors. Findings will be illustrated in causal loop diagrams with social determinants of risk factors along with their interaction (feedback mechanism).DiscussionThe review will describe the interplay of social determinants of common NCD metabolic risk factors in the form of causal loop diagram. Findings will be structured in two parts: the first part will explain the linkage between proximal determinants with the metabolic risk factors and the second part will describe the linkage among the risk factors, proximal determinants and distal determinants. Evidences across different regions will be discussed to compare and validate and/or contrast the findings. Possible bias and limitations of this study will also be discussed.Systematic review registrationPROSPERO CRD42017067212

Principles and strategies for improving the prevention of cardio-metabolic diseases in indigenous populations: An international Delphi study

The disparity in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations, including within high-income countries, is driven by a heightened risk of cardio-metabolic diseases. The current study recruited independent panels of experts in Indigenous cardio-metabolic health from Australia, New Zealand and the United States, in order to establish local consensus opinion and initiate dialogue on appropriate prevention strategies. Therefore, a three-round Delphi process was used to consolidate and compare the opinions of 60 experts, 20 from each country. Round one, the experts were asked twelve open-ended questions across six domains: (i) prevention; (ii) consultation; (iii) educational resources; (iv) societal issues; (v) workforce issues; (vi) culture and family. Round two, the experts completed a structured questionnaire based on results from the first round, in which they ranked items according to their importance. Final round, the experts were asked to re-rank the same items after receiving summary feedback about the rank ordering from the previous round. Several themes emerged common to all three countries: (i) socio-economic and education inequalities should be addressed; (ii) educational, behaviour change and prevention strategies should address physical environmental determinants and be responsive to the local context, including being culturally appropriate; and (iii) cultural appropriateness can be achieved through consultation with Indigenous communities, cultural competency training, use of Indigenous health workers, and use of appropriate role models. These findings highlight several key priorities that can be used to initiate dialogue on appropriate prevention strategies. Such strategies should be contextualized to the local Indigenous populations.

Barriers to cervical screening among Pacific women in a New Zealand Urban Population.

BACKGROUND In Aotearoa/New Zealand cervical screening programmes have reduced cervical cancer; however, half of cervical cancer cases among Pacific women are found among clients who had not attended cervical screening. Hence, we set out to determine health provider perspectives on barriers that prevent their services reaching Pacific women within Aotearoa/New Zealand. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted with health care providers, Pap smear takers and community workers in the Wellington region. Participants were asked their views on factors that enabled and/or constrained the participation of Pacific women in their cervical screening services. RESULTS Six interrelated themes influencing participation in cervical screening among Pacific women in the Wellington region were apparent: the funding and practice of service delivery; family always coming first; the cost of screening services; type of employment; the appropriateness of information; and attitudes to self and screening. CONCLUSIONS Determining specific ethnic group actual health needs and meeting them contributes to overall improvement in New Zealands health status. The results identified the need for improvements to the delivery of screening services including adapting cervical screening services to the requirements of Pacific women through more outreach services at alternate clinic hours; culturally appropriate practitioners; the ability to take up opportunities for health checks and foster long-term relationships; as well as appropriate monitoring and evaluation of approaches. Funding and reporting relationships also need to be compatible with the goal of improving outcomes for Pacific women. Further research into client voices for their particular needs to compliment the service provider perspective as well as minority groups is called for.