Management of chronic conditions is a challenge for healthcare delivery systems world over and especially for low/middle-income countries (LMIC). Redesigning primary care to deliver quality care for chronic conditions is a need of the hour. However, much of the literature is from the experience of high-income countries. We conducted a synthesis of qualitative findings regarding care for chronic conditions at primary care facilities in LMICs. The themes identified were used to adapt the existing chronic care model (CCM) for application in an LMIC using the ‘best fit’ framework synthesis methodology. Primary qualitative research studies were systematically searched and coded using themes of the CCM. The results that could not be coded were thematically analysed to generate themes to enrich the model. Search strategy keywords were: primary health care, diabetes mellitus type 2, hypertension, chronic disease, developing countries, low, middle-income countries and LMIC country names as classified by the World Bank. The search yielded 404 articles, 338 were excluded after reviewing abstracts. Further, 42 articles were excluded based on criteria. Twenty-four studies were included for analysis. All themes of the CCM, identified a priori, were represented in primary studies. Four additional themes for the model were identified: a focus on the quality of communication between health professionals and patients, availability of essential medicines, diagnostics and trained personnel at decentralised levels of healthcare, and mechanisms for coordination between healthcare providers. We recommend including these in the CCM to make it relevant for application in an LMIC.

BackgroundChronic diseases have emerged as the leading cause of death globally, and 20% of Indians are estimated to suffer from a chronic condition. Care for chronic diseases poses a major public health challenge, especially when health care delivery has been geared traditionally towards acute care. In this study, we aimed to better understand how primary care for diabetes and hypertension is currently organised in first-line health facilities in rural India, and propose evidence-based ways forward for strengthening local health systems to address chronic problems.MethodsWe used qualitative and quantitative methods to gain insight into how care is organised and how patients and providers manage within this delivery system. We conducted in-depth interviews with the medical doctors working in three private clinics and in three public primary health centres. We also interviewed 24 patients with chronic diseases receiving care in the two sub-sectors. Non-participant observations and facility assessments were performed to triangulate the findings from the interviews.ResultsThe current delivery system has many problems impeding the delivery of quality care for chronic conditions. In both the public and private facilities studied, the care processes are very doctor-centred, with little room for other health centre staff. Doctors face very high workloads, especially in the public sector, jeopardising proper communication with patients and adequate counselling. In addition, the health information system is fragmented and provides little or no support for patient follow-up and self-management. The patient is largely left on their own in trying to make sense of their condition and in finding their way in a complex and scattered health care landscape.ConclusionsThe design and organisation of care for persons with chronic diseases in India needs to be rethought. More space and responsibility should be given to the primary care level, and relatively less to the more specialised hospital level. Furthermore, doctors should consider delegating some of their tasks to other staff in the first-line health facility to significantly reduce their workload and increase time available for communication. The health information system needs to be adapted to better ensure continuity of care and support self-management by patients.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12913-019-3876-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

BackgroundWe comparatively assessed the performance of six simple obesity indices to identify adults with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in a diverse and contemporary South Asian population.Methods8,892 participants aged 20–60 years in 2010–2011 were analyzed. Six obesity indices were examined: body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-height ratio (WHtR), waist-hip ratio (WHR), log of the sum of triceps and subscapular skin fold thickness (LTS), and percent body fat derived from bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA). We estimated models with obesity indices specified as deciles and as continuous linear variables to predict prevalent hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol and report associations (prevalence ratios, PRs), discrimination (area-under-the-curve, AUCs), and calibration (index χ2). We also examined a composite unhealthy cardiovascular profile score summarizing glucose, lipids, and blood pressure.ResultsNo single obesity index consistently performed statistically significantly better than the others across the outcome models. Based on point estimates, WHtR trended towards best performance in classifying diabetes (PR = 1.58 [1.45–1.72], AUC = 0.77, men; PR = 1.59 [1.47–1.71], AUC = 0.80, women) and hypertension (PR = 1.34 [1.26,1.42], AUC = 0.70, men; PR = 1.41 [1.33,1.50], AUC = 0.78, women). WC (mean difference = 0.24 SD [0.21–0.27]) and WHtR (mean difference = 0.24 SD [0.21,0.28]) had the strongest associations with the composite unhealthy cardiovascular profile score in women but not in men.ConclusionsWC and WHtR were the most useful indices for identifying South Asian adults with prevalent diabetes and hypertension. Collection of waist circumference data in South Asian health surveys will be informative for population-based CVD surveillance efforts.

BackgroundEffective task-shifting interventions targeted at reducing the global cardiovascular disease (CVD) epidemic in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) are urgently needed.MethodsDISHA is a cluster randomised controlled trial conducted across 10 sites (5 in phase 1 and 5 in phase 2) in India in 120 clusters. At each site, 12 clusters were randomly selected from a district. A cluster is defined as a small village with 250–300 households and well defined geographical boundaries. They were then randomly allocated to intervention and control clusters in a 1:1 allocation sequence. If any of the intervention and control clusters were <10 km apart, one was dropped and replaced with another randomly selected cluster from the same district. The study included a representative baseline cross-sectional survey, development of a structured intervention model, delivery of intervention for a minimum period of 18 months by trained frontline health workers (mainly Anganwadi workers and ASHA workers) and a post intervention survey in a representative sample. The study staff had no information on intervention allocation until the completion of the baseline survey. In order to ensure comparability of data across sites, the DISHA study follows a common protocol and manual of operation with standardized measurement techniques.DiscussionOur study is the largest community based cluster randomised trial in low and middle-income country settings designed to test the effectiveness of ‘task shifting’ interventions involving frontline health workers for cardiovascular risk reduction.Trial registrationCTRI/2013/10/004049. Registered 7 October 2013.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-016-2891-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Chronic non-communicable diseases, predominantly diabetes and cardiovascular disease are a major public health problem globally. The chronicity of these diseases necessitates a restructuring of healthcare to address the multidisciplinary, sustained care including psychosocial support and development of self-management skills. Primary healthcare with elements of the chronic-care model provides the best opportunity for engagement with the health system. In this review, the authors discuss aspects of primary healthcare for management of diabetes and hypertension and innovations such as mobile-phone messaging, web-based registries, computer-based decision support systems and multifaceted health professionals in the care team among others that are being tested to improve the quality of care for these diseases in high, middle and low-income countries. The goal of quality care for diabetes and hypertension demands innovation within the realities of health systems both in high as well as low and middle-income countries.