Advancing the agenda on noncommunicable diseases: prevention and management at community level
Loading...
Date
2017
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Health Systems Trust (HST)
Abstract
South Africa is experiencing an increase in the prevalence of non-communicable
diseases (NCDs), which imposes a heavy burden on healthcare services. The
South African government has made great strides towards management and
control of NCDs, including the development of management guidelines, healthpromotion
and prevention policies intended to assist healthcare workers, facilities
and communities in NCD care. However, it appears that the facility-based component
of NCD management and control efforts has received more attention than the
community-level components.
The national strategic plan for NCDs highlights the importance of community-level
interventions in chronic NCD care. Thus there is a need for community-based
strategies for NCD prevention, control and management to complement facility-based
health services.
This chapter explores the advancement of the NCD agenda in South Africa through
an emphasis on community-level prevention and management. It describes
interventions that used community actors such as community health workers in NCD
care. The chapter discusses some of the challenges of these interventions, and ends
with possible suggestions for South Africa.
Description
Keywords
Non-communicable diseases, NCD, Development of management
Citation
Puoane, Thandi Rose ETAL (2017). Advancing the agenda on noncommunicable diseases: prevention and management at community level. South African Health Review, 2017 (1): 171-179