Non-communicable disease prevention and management

HRIDAYA: Co-Designing a Multi-level Intervention for Improving Continuum of Care for Non-Communicable Diseases in Three Diverse Cities in Nepal

Funding: National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) through Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases Scheme

Lead CIs: Emeritus Professor A. Thrift (SCS), A/Prof J. Boyle and Dr. R .Thapa

The research team is comprised of  academics and researchers from John Hopkins University, USA, Aarhus University, Denmark, Institute of Medicine, Nepal, Nepal Development Society and policy makers from the Ministry of Health, Nepal.

This is a co-designed research program aimed at developing an equitable and sustainable model of care  for improving the continuum of care for people living with hypertension and diabetes in Nepal.

The intervention package includes the following components:

  • Augment the capacity of health care professional and community health workers (CHWs) to diagnose and manage hypertension and diabetes
  • Community system strengthening by enhancing the capacity of CHWs to screen for risk factors and refer at-risk patients with support from mobile e-based application
  • Develop, expand and extend an enhanced model of care and augment health professional’s capacity for managing hypertension and diabetes across the municipalities
  • Establish a mechanism to integrate community and primary health care systems to improve continuum of care for hypertension and diabetes
  • System based intervention to optimise monitoring an tracking of people with hypertension and diabetes

Reducing cardiometabolic risk in women with a history of gestational diabetes: a focus on equity

Funding: The Heart Foundation, Vanguard Grant

Lead CIs: Dr. Siew Lim and  A/Prof J. Boyle

Other investigators from HS&E: Dr R. Thapa, G. Ukke and W. Takele

The project innovatively combines principles of equity, population health and implementation science to systematically describe and address inequities across all dimensions of diversity.

The project aims at quantifying health inequities, identifying facilitators and barriers and co-designing strategies to overcome inequities in engagement in a state-wide lifestyle program (Life!).

The project incorporates following phases:

  • Understanding inequity within the lifestyle program through an audit of the state-wide lifestyle program
  • Understand the barriers ands facilitators for engagement into the lifestyle program
  • Co-designing interventions and evaluation plans for addressing inequalities in the enrollment and retention into the lifestyle intervention

Mapping GDM by geography in Australia

Leads: W. Takele, A/Prof Boyle and Dr. S. Lim

Mapping GDM by ABS statistical area Level 2 to understand inequity in risk factors such as socioeconomic status, environmental risk factors and incidence of GDM.