Abstract
In the last decade, there has been an epidemiological shift from communicable to non- communicable disease and thise impact of this shift is more evident in India which is witnessing rapid urbanization and lifestyle changes. NCDs are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in India of which the 4 major NCDs (Cardiovascular Diseases, Respiratory diseases, Diabetes, and Cancer), contribute to 60% of the total deaths in the country. The key priority areas of the primary health systems in India has been the maternal health and family planning programs while the other infectious and non-infectious disease prevention had taken a back seat. Though there were structural and operational limitations in delivery of effective primary Healthcare, new age screening solutions are offering sustainable and scalable solutions with quantitative & accurate clinical decision making, referrals, data collection and disease awareness. This study examines the NCD screening solution developed by Narayana Health through the socio technical systems perspective in low resource settings.
Methods and materials: The data collected from screening solution that was developed using socio-technical system was used to assess the screening solution in addressing the gaps in NCD screening. A cross sectional study was carried out from June 2019 to January 2020 in the urban Bangalore district.
Results: A total of 16,635 individuals for screened for NCDs of whom 22.6% were hypertensives, 9.1% were diabetic, 25% were Overweight and Obese. Anaemia was prevalent in 36% of the population of which 0.4% were severe anaemics, 3.5% were moderate anaemics and 32% were mild anaemics. Of the total population screened for oral and breast cancer 98 were found to have precancerous oral lesions and 50 received confirmatory diagnosis for severe dysplasia. The innovative development of screening kit and workflow process brought in a lot of traction to the program in increasing awareness, early identification and referral to higher government health centres for confirmatory diagnosis.
Conclusion: The NCD screening solution that was developed using the socio-technical system was seen to be acceptable by the population and the low- cost model was beneficial in low resource setting.
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