SUPPORT -Strategies for non-communicable disease prevention in select populations in different regions of India
Details
Background:
India faces a high burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), particularly cardiovascular conditions.
Proven strategies like combination drug therapies and non-physician health workers (NPHWs) are effective in low-resource settings.
Limited data exist on multi-risk factor interventions in diverse, vulnerable populations.
Objective:
To evaluate the effect of multiple interventions (counselling, peer support, lifestyle changes, medication adherence) on cardiovascular risk factors.
To build community capacity for NCD prevention.
Methods:
Design: Quasi-experimental pre-post study.
Setting:7 sites across 4 Indian states [Urban Slum, Bangalore, Karnataka, Rural primary care hospital, Mugalur, Rural not for profit referral hospital (ESRHS), Palamner, Andhra Pradesh, Primary Health Centre for gender and sexual minority, Hassan, Karnataka, Gauri Research Center, Srinagar, Kashmir, Tribal Health Initiative (THI), SVYM, Hoskote].
Participants: 249 adults (age >30) with CVDs or risk factors.
Intervention: Community health worker–based counseling and peer support, with training provided centrally and locally.
Follow-up: 6 months (65.8% retention).
Key Results:
Participants: female (53%), low education (69% no formal schooling), low income (63% ≤ ?10,000/month), and limited insurance coverage (72% uninsured).
Changes in clinical end points: Significant reduction in systolic BP, Diastolic BP and Blood sugar was reported.
Systolic BP: reduced from 135.96 to 131.33 mmHg (p=0.003).
Diastolic BP: reduced from 84.66 to 81.64 mmHg (p=0.001).
Blood sugar: reduced from 212.1 to 168.3 mg/dL (p<0.001).
No significant changes in BMI or cholesterol were observed.
Conclusions:
Interventions were effective, feasible, and well accepted.
Findings support the need for a larger multicentre trial.