[afro-nets] Ashanti-ProCOR project launch in June-July

["Catherine Coleman" <ccoleman5@partners.org>]

Ashanti-ProCOR project launch in June-July
------------------------------------------

Dear colleagues,

I will be in Kumasi and Accra, Ghana, from June 19-July 11 to launch the Ashanti-ProCOR Project to Increase CVD Knowledge and Practice Among Health Workers.  The purpose of this visit is to introduce the project to stakeholders in health and information. 

I would be glad to connect (or reconnect, if we met in Kenya last October) with any AHILA members in the region during my visit.

I also would appreciate your suggestions of who I should meet with while I am there.

ProCOR's presentation on the need for information to support preventive strategies addressing heart disease in Africa is posted on the AHILA website. I also am including a summary of the project below.

Many thanks! I hope to hear from you.

Catherine Coleman
Editor in Chief
ProCOR
Lown Cardiovascular Research Foundation
21 Longwood Avenue, Brookline, MA 02446 USA
617 732 1318 x3332 
http://www.procor.org
mailto:ccoleman5@partners.org

-----------
Ashanti-ProCOR Project to Increase CVD Knowledge and Practice Among Health Workers Cardiovascular disease (CVD) currently accounts for one-tenth of all deaths in Africa, and its incidence is rapidly rising.  The vast majority of cardiovascular disease can be attributed to risk factors such as physical inactivity, tobacco use and unhealthy diet. Eighty percent of CVD is preventable, but health workers and the public often are unaware of its alarming prevalence, or they may lack knowledge about preventive strategies.  

This new project, which has been developed by ProCOR (http://www.procor.org) in collaboration with Dr. Bernard Nkum, Cardiology Consultant, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, proposes to increase access to information about heart health promotion in Ghana by identifying the information needs of health workers and
developing a health communication strategy to meet their needs. The project will maximize linkages with local resources and connect with other regional and global networks, thereby contributing to health in Ghana, across Africa, and around the world.

ProCOR, a program of the Lown Cardiovascular Research Foundation, is a United States-based NGO with a mission of promoting heart health in developing countries and other low-resource settings. ProCOR was founded in 1997 by Dr. Bernard Lown, Nobel Peace Prize recipient and inventor of the cardiac defibrillator. ProCOR is the only health communication network that exists to facilitate the global exchange of information and ideas to promote heart health.


Our specific project objectives are to: 
§Identify the information needs of health care professionals who can play a role in preventing CVD.
§Identify issues of access to information and barriers to applying information.
§Identify factors that enhance preventive clinical practice and patient education.
§Develop a locally relevant communication strategy to facilitate sharing of knowledge among local and global colleagues.
§Develop skills among key local catalysts to sustain ongoing network activities.

The project will target three key groups of health workers and will engage health communication specialists and other experts as appropriate:
§Community health nurses (approximately 300)
§Medical students at SMS/KNUST, Kumasi (approximately 100)
§Primary care physicians in six polyclinics/hospitals in Kumasi (approximately 40)

Major activities include:
§Conduct a literature review on the information needs of health workers in developing countries with an emphasis on cardiovascular health information needs in Africa. 
§Identify existing health information resources in Ghana and across Africa with which the project collaborate.
§Conduct a survey of CVD knowledge and practice among the project's target audiences (polyclinic physicians, community health nurses, and medical students). Responses will be anonymous.
§Compile existing data on CVD and risk factors in Ghana.
§Develop a locally relevant "case for prevention" to engage local practitioners in the project.
§Conduct focus groups and interviews to learn about health information needs, preferred formats, existing resources, and factors that motivate the incorporation of prevention into practice. Participants in focus groups will be volunteers recruited from the target constituencies of medical students, polyclinic physicians, and community health nurses.  Participants will sign a confidentiality and release form. Notes and/or recordings of focus groups will be anonymous. Individuals who are interviewed for the project will sign a consent form and will be given the option of providing anonymous or attributed comments.
§Deliver a summary of data to local practitioners in Kumasi and work collaboratively with them to develop a responsive communication strategy.
§Work with the Kumasi health community to implement the strategy and assess its effectiveness.
§Share results of the project's learnings, tools, materials, and processes regionally and globally.

The anticipated outcomes of the project are:
§Increased awareness among key health care providers of local incidence of risk factors and the effectiveness of preventive strategies in community and clinical settings.
§Increased access to knowledge about risk factors and cost-effective prevention strategies.
§Increased application of knowledge by health care providers through prevention education, risk factor screening, and lifestyle-based/low-cost treatment.
§Increased involvement and effectiveness among people who are key links in the local communication network (local task force members, librarians, editor/moderator)
§Increased sharing of local/regional/national research, policy, and practice with global networks. 
§Enhancement of ProCOR's strategies in response to learning from project research.

The information transmitted in this electronic communication is intended only for the person or entity to whom it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of or taking of any action in reliance upon this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you received this information in error, please contact the Compliance HelpLine at 800-856-1983 and properly dispose of this information.

--

Catherine Coleman
Editor in Chief
ProCOR
Lown Cardiovascular Research Foundation
21 Longwood Avenue, Brookline, MA 02446 USA
617 732 1318 x3332 
http://www.procor.org
mailto:ccoleman5@partners.org