Novartis launches new hypertension program in Ghana
pharmafile | October 29, 2015 | News story | Research and Development |
The Novartis Foundation and its partners have begun screening patients in a Community-based Hypertension Improvement Project (ComHIP) in Ghana in a two-year program designed to evaluate the impact of an innovative healthcare model on hypertension management and control.
With the new healthcare model, Novartis and its partners aim to evaluate the impact of innovative healthcare and improve the control of hypertension- a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease- by making services more accessible in the community while allowing individuals to manage their hypertension.
Peter Lamptey, president of Emeritus, and Professor of non-communicable diseases at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, says: “We’ve taken lessons from previous work in infectious disease to create ComHIP, a unique healthcare model that joins together public-private partnerships, community-based healthcare services and technology that supports healthcare workers and drives patient education.” He adds: “We want to empower the whole community from patients to healthcare workers to local businesses to reduce the burden of hypertension, and – hopefully – to improve the healthcare system overall.”
Carried out in a district close to an urban centre in Ghana, ComHIP will shift the point where patients access healthcare from frequently remote and overcrowded hospitals, to the community.
Local businesses and healthcare workers in the community will be trained to screen and care for hypertensive patients. Mobile devices and telemedicine will be used to support community nurses in decision making and to maintain connection with community healthcare workers and physicians. SMS voice messaging will be used for patient education to reduce risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
Ann Aerts, head of the Novartis Foundation, comments: “We are really excited to see ComHIP gain momentum and I am confident the results of the program will help inform policy that improves hypertension care in Ghana at a national level.
“In addition, the Novartis Foundation’s goal extends beyond Ghana and hypertension. We seek to build evidence on what type of healthcare delivery models and technologies are effective, and then adapt and apply them to help manage the overall dual burden of infectious and non-communicable diseases that low- and middle-income countries are facing.”
Almost 70% of all deaths globally are associated with non-communicable diseases (NCD) such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer and four out of five of these deaths occur in low and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Deaths from hypertension are estimated at 9.4 million people annually worldwide, which is equivalent to all infectious diseases combined. More than a quarter of the adult population in Ghana has hypertension, but only 4% of these patients have their blood pressure under control.
Yasmita Kumar
