Abstract
Introduction: In many low- and middle income countries (LMICs), people are unaware of the damaging effects of tobacco smoke and household air pollution (HAP).
Objective: To develop and implement a feasible, acceptable, and effective lung health awareness programme in three LMICs: Uganda, Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam.
Methods: Group stakeholder meetings were held, to co-create intervention materials and develop an implementation strategy. Mixed methods were used to 1) evaluate the implementation process (guided by the modified Conceptual Framework for Implementation Fidelity), 2) determine the costs of the programme, 3) evaluate the effect of the programme on local knowledge on lung health.
Findings: All education materials were adapted and an implementation strategy for a cascading train-the-trainer programme was co-created with local stakeholders; the programme was then integrated in the existing health infrastructure. Healthcare workers (HCWs) were trained, who subsequently trained community health workers (CHWs). CHWs trained their communities, reaching >15,000 people in Uganda and Kyrgyzstan, and >10,000 in Vietnam. Costs varied from 13,000 to 15,400 euros across the countries. Knowledge on lung health among the trained HCWs, CHWs and community members increased significantly to an excellent level in each country.
Conclusions: The implementation strategy, using a cascading train-the-trainer method commencing with physicians and ending at community level, is feasible, acceptable and effective in diverse low-resource settings. The increased understanding of lung health will enable communities to consider different possibilities to reduce exposure from HAP.
Footnotes
Cite this article as: European Respiratory Journal 2019; 54: Suppl. 63, PA728.
This is an ERS International Congress abstract. No full-text version is available. Further material to accompany this abstract may be available at www.ers-education.org (ERS member access only).
- Copyright ©the authors 2019