reduction in salt intake has been identified as one of the most cost-effective measures for improving health outcomes 1-3. Different studies have reported the benefit of salt-reduction interventions in decreasing blood pressure and cardiovascular events 4-6. Results from a meta-analysis show that modest reductions in salt intake are followed by a decrease in blood pressure levels among both hypertensive and normotensive subjects 7. Nevertheless, the evidence of the effectiveness of population-level, behavior change interventions on reducing salt intake is inconsistent, suggesting that education and awareness-raising interventions alone are not sufficient for reducing population salt intake 8. Salt substitutes, that is, salt enriched with potassium or other similar components such as magnesium or aluminum, have been reported to be effective in reducing both systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) 9-11. Under controlled conditions, salt-substitution strategies can reduce the SBP up to 5 mm Hg and the DBP up to 1.5 mm Hg, and this effect was larger among individuals with hypertension than among normotensive subjects 12. There is limited evidence, however, from studying the population-level effect of these salt-substitution interventions. A cluster randomized trial conducted in China, evaluating the effect of a community-based sodium reduction program using a salt substitute on salt consumption and blood pressure, found reductions in urinary sodium excretion but not in blood pressure 13. Currently, an increasing number of countries have adopted national salt-reduction strategies 14. Salt-substitution initiatives could aid such strategies in settings where added salt during cooking is the main source of salt intake, particularly in low-and middle-income countries where hypertension rates are increasing at a fast rate 15. The aim of the present study was to assess the efficacy of a pragmatic intervention using a salt-substitution strategy to reduce blood pressure, as well as its impact on the incidence of hypertension, at the population level, using a stepped-wedge cluster trial in Peru. Results Population characteristics. Figure 1 shows the details of participants' enrollment, including dates, number of subjects assessed, those lost to follow-up and those analyzed for each step of the trial. A total of 2,376 (91.2%) out of 2,605 eligible subjects in the 6 villages were enrolled in the study from 2 April to 17 July, 2014: 49.6% females, mean age 43.3 ± 17.2 years. Of note, only 18.9% of the individuals had ≥12 years of education, 68.1% were in the overweight or obesity range with a body mass index (BMI) ≥25 kg m −2 and 18.3% had a diagnosis of hypertension. Table 1 shows the characteristics of the study population at baseline and a comparison between the control and the intervention periods. There were differences among villages in the distribution of age, education, wealth index, BMI, SBP, DBP and hypertension (see Supplementary Table 1). Effect of the salt substitute on blood pressure levels....
IMPORTANCEMost of the global morbidity and mortality in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) occurs in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), with significant economic effects.OBJECTIVE To assess the discriminative accuracy of 3 instruments using questionnaires and peak expiratory flow (PEF) to screen for COPD in 3 LMIC settings. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSA cross-sectional analysis of discriminative accuracy, conducted between January 2018 and March 2020 in semiurban Bhaktapur, Nepal; urban Lima, Peru; and rural Nakaseke, Uganda, using a random age-and sex-stratified sample of the population 40 years or older.EXPOSURES Three screening tools, the COPD Assessment in Primary Care to Identify Undiagnosed Respiratory Disease and Exacerbation Risk (CAPTURE; range, 0-6; high risk indicated by a score of 5 or more or score 2-5 with low PEF [<250 L/min for females and <350 L/min for males]), the COPD in LMICs Assessment questionnaire (COLA-6; range, 0-5; high risk indicated by a score of 4 or more), and the Lung Function Questionnaire (LFQ; range, 0-25; high risk indicated by a score of 18 or less) were assessed against a reference standard diagnosis of COPD using quality-assured postbronchodilator spirometry. CAPTURE and COLA-6 include a measure of PEF. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURESThe primary outcome was discriminative accuracy of the tools in identifying COPD as measured by area under receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs) with 95% CIs. Secondary outcomes included sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value. RESULTS Among 10 709 adults who consented to participate in the study (mean age, 56.3 years (SD, 11.7); 50% female), 35% had ever smoked, and 30% were currently exposed to biomass smoke. The unweighted prevalence of COPD at the 3 sites was 18.2% (642/3534 participants) in Nepal, 2.7% (97/3550) in Peru, and 7.4% (264/3580) in Uganda. Among 1000 COPD cases, 49.3% had clinically important disease (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease classification B-D), 16.4% had severe or very severe airflow obstruction (forced expiratory volume in 1 second <50% predicted), and 95.3% of cases were previously undiagnosed. The AUC for the screening instruments ranged from 0.717 (95% CI, 0.677-0.774) for LFQ in Peru to 0.791 (95% CI, 0.770-0.809) for COLA-6 in Nepal. The sensitivity ranged from 34.8% (95% CI, 25.3%-45.2%) for COLA-6 in Nepal to 64.2% (95% CI, 60.3%-67.9%) for CAPTURE in Nepal. The mean time to administer the instruments was 7.6 minutes (SD 1.11), and data completeness was 99.5%. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCEThis study demonstrated that screening instruments for COPD were feasible to administer in 3 low-and middle-income settings. Further research is needed to assess instrument performance in other low-and middle-income settings and to determine whether implementation is associated with improved clinical outcomes.
BackgroundChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the end result of a susceptible individual being exposed to sufficiently deleterious environmental stimuli. More than 90% of COPD-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). LMICs face unique challenges in managing COPD; for example, deficient primary care systems present challenges for proper diagnosis and management. Formal diagnosis of COPD requires quality-assured spirometry, which is often limited to urban health centres. Similarly, standard treatment options for COPD remain limited where few providers are trained to manage COPD. The Global Excellence in COPD Outcomes (GECo) studies aim to assess the performance of a COPD case-finding questionnaire with and without peak expiratory flow (PEF) to diagnose COPD, and inform the effectiveness and implementation of COPD self-management Action Plans in LMIC settings. The ultimate goal is to develop simple, low-cost models of care that can be implemented in LMICs. This study will be carried out in Nepal, Peru and Uganda, three distinct LMIC settings.Methods/designWe aim to assess the diagnostic accuracy of a simple questionnaire with and without PEF to case-find COPD (GECo1), and examine the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and implementation of a community-health-worker-supported self-management Action Plan strategy for managing exacerbations of COPD (GECo2). To achieve the first aim, we will enrol a randomly selected sample of up to 10,500 adults aged ≥ 40 years across our three sites, with the goal to enrol 240 participants with moderate-to-severe COPD in to GECo2. We will apply two case-finding questionnaires (Lung Function Questionnaire and CAPTURE) with and without PEF and compare performance against spirometry. We will report ROC areas, sensitivity and specificity. Individuals who are identified as having COPD grades B–D will be invited to enrol in an effectiveness-implementation hybrid randomised trial of a multi-faceted COPD self-management Action Plan intervention delivered by CHWs. The intervention group will receive (1) COPD education, (2) facilitated-self management Action Plans for COPD exacerbations and (3) monthly visits by community health workers. The control group will receive COPD education and standard of care treatment provided by local health providers. Beginning at baseline, we will measure quality of life with the EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D) and St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) every 3 months over a period of 1 year. The primary endpoint is SGRQ at 12 months. Quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) using the Short-Form 36 version 2 will also be calculated. We will additionally assess the acceptability and feasibility of implementing COPD Action Plans in each setting among providers and individuals with COPD.DiscussionThis study should provide evidence to inform the use of pragmatic models of COPD diagnosis and management in LMIC settings.Trial registrationNCT03359915 (GECo1). Registered on 2 December 2017 and NCT03365713 (GECo2). Registered on 7 December 2017. T...
Despite an initial political commitment by the Peruvian government to improve the delivery of diabetes care, there exist several key limitations that affect access to adequate diabetes care, especially at the primary healthcare level. In a context in which various low- and middle-income countries are aiming to achieve universal health coverage, this study provides lessons for the implementation of strategies related to diabetes care delivery.
Background: Co-creation is the process of involving stakeholders in the development of interventions. Although co-creation is becoming more widespread, reports of the process and lessons learned are scarce. Objective: To describe the process and lessons learned from using the COHESION manual, a co-creation methodology to develop interventions aimed at the improvement of diagnosis and/or management of chronic diseases at the primary healthcare level in a low-resource setting in Peru. Methods: Observational study to describe the use of the COHESION manual 'Moving from Research to Interventions: The COHESION Model' developed for a multi-country project in low-and middle-income countries for co-creation and the adaptations needed to customize it to the local context of rural communities in northern Peru. Results: The actual process of co-creation in Peru included co-creation-related questions in the formative research; an initial consultation with stakeholders at the micro, meso, and macro levels (e.g. community members, health workers, and policy-makers); the analysis of the collected data; a second consultation with each stakeholder group; the prioritization of intervention options; and finally the design of a theory of change for all activities included in the complex intervention. The complex intervention included: 1) offer training in specific diseases and soft skills to health workers, 2) create radio programs that promote chronic disease prevention and management plus empower patients to ask questions during their visits to primary health care (PHC) facilities, and 3) provide a small grant to the PHC for infrastructure improvement. Small adaptations to the COHESION manual were necessary for this co-creation process. Conclusion: This study provides a practical example of the process of co-creating complex interventions to increase access and quality of health care in a low-resource setting. The process, components, challenges and opportunities identified could be useful for other researchers who want to co-create interventions with beneficiaries in similar settings.
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