A12710 Collaborating with state governments for building capacity of medical officers in the management of hypertension and its complications

Abstract

Objectives: To improve the knowledge and skills of government medical officers in the management of hypertension and related complications using a multiple stakeholder model for capacity building. Methods: Public Health Foundation of India, International Society of Hypertension, British Hypertension Society and Centre for Chronic Disease Control jointly developed and delivered a countrywide program for primary care physicians. The course was later adopted by three state governments in India (Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya and Tripura) under the National Health Mission for training of their respective medical officers. The curriculum was developed by international societies and contextualized by a panel of national experts. This was later delivered by faculty nominated by the state. The course had a strong built-in monitoring and evaluation component that assured standardized delivery and quality of the program. Results: A total of 213 participants were trained in the state of Madhya Pradesh and were posted at their respective health centres as NCD nodal officers post-training. Over 90% of the medical officers trained felt that the course improved their knowledge and confidence in the management of hypertension. In the state of Meghalaya, 20 medical officers are currently undergoing training. The state government of Tripura will nominate 40 medical officers to be trained in the course. Conclusion: Building capacity of primary care physicians could help reduce the burden on the government tertiary care system and also help strengthen state primary health systems. The model presented can be easily adopted by other state governments as well as low and middle income countries that have similar health system settings.