Current interventions focus on:
- CVD risk factor management
- Tobacco control
CVD
Previous prevention efforts are based on CVD risk factor management. A national programme of chronic disease management was launched in 1993 by the Ministry of Health. This programme is designed to improve the quality of care for patients with diabetes and hypertension in primary care settings. Its main objective is to standardise the management of these two CVD risk factors in primary care with a focus on general physician training and health education.
Several studies undertaken at the regional level in Sousse have assessed the results of this programme 10 years after it was launched. The main results showed a low level of compliance of hypertensive and diabetes patients (respectively, 37.5% and 36.1% of hypertensive and diabetes patients were non-compliant). There was also a low level of hypertension control (5.5% of patients had high blood pressure) and diabetes control (16.7% of patients had consistently elevated blood sugars).
Tobacco control
There is a national commission in the Ministry of Health to follow the achievements of the anti-smoking programme.
The national strategy of smoking control is based on Health education, smoking cessation program and legislation (law N° 17/98 of 02/23/1998). Despite this legislation, however, there are problems around implementation of this law, and its effects have not yet been fully assessed.