Title: Facing the NCD epidemic in low- and middle-income countries: from data to service delivery
Keywords: Planning and programming
Non-communicable diseases
Health systems
Burden of diseases
Country: Germany
Institution: Germany - Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, University of Heidelberg
Date start: 2025-03-03
Date end: 2025-03-07
About duration and dates: 1 week 45 hours on site + 15 hours reading prior to course start
Classification: advanced optional
Mode of delivery: Face to face
Course location: Institute of Global Health
Im Neuenheimer Feld 365, Room 007
D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany
ECTS credit points: 2 ECTS credits
SIT: 60 SIT (30 hours lectures/contact time, 15 hours group work and presentations, 15 hours self-directed learning, of which 5 hours are allocated for pre-reading before course start plus 5 hours for writing a summary statement of pre-reading, plus 5 additional hours for individual assignment after course end).
Language: English
Description: By the end of the course he participants should be able to:
● develop evidence-based models for NCD service delivery
● critically appraise (local) evidence of NCD burden and availability and quality of respective data
● identify main challenges in and formulate strategies (capacity building, data generation, service implementation) for NCD service delivery in low- and middle-income countries
● assess the applicability of international NCD guidelines in local settings
Assessment Procedures: As a formative assessment, the candidates will be requested to submit a max 1000 words conclusion with respect to the prior readings, including a short narrative description of the NCD-related epidemiology, interventions and policies in their home-country one week prior to the course. The summary statements will be discussed in the first morning of the course.
The assessment of the participants’ achievements aligned to the learning objectives will be determined by a two-part assignment:
1) Group assignment (50 %): Describing the local/regional epidemiology, interventions and policies regarding the current burden of a specific NCD based on available data and developing evidence-based solutions/approaches for NCD service delivery (10 minutes ppt + 10 minutes discussion). The assignment will be introduced during the first day of the course. The presentations will take place on Friday afternoon.
2) Individual assignment (50 %): Each participant is expected to submit a written individual assignment of about 1500 words within two weeks after completion of the course. The candidate should discuss the possible application of the gained skills and knowledge with respect to the applicability in his or her home country.
The final grade consists of both assignments, with a maximum of 100 %. Passing mark is 60%. In case of failure the respective participant will be able to submit another new (different NCD/aspect) individual assignment of 2000 words within 2 weeks after announcement of the results.
Content: ● Situational analysis of NCD burden and trends (including risk factors on individual and societal level) in the home countries of the participants (theory and practical). Comparison of international guidelines and national NCD strategic plans and the status of transfer into practice (exemplary on one/two specific NCD aspect(s))
● NCD and human and financial resources, NCD financing
● Three pillars of NCD service delivery: capacity building, NCD services, NCD data generation (availability and quality)
● Analyse the challenges of NCD's strategies and service implementation in low and middle income countries
● implementation/integration strategies
● Best practice examples (successful models on NCD's strategies and service delivery in low and middle income context)
Methods: The course aims to initiate an active participatory learning process. It uses a combination of lectures/case studies (40%), and discussions in plenary (10% of a total of 30 hours), group work/class presentations (25%) and self-study (25% of a total of 30 hours). Participants will work individually and in groups. The groups will comprise maximum 5 persons each.
Prerequisites: English: TOEFL test 5.5 or IELTS 6.5 or equivalent language skills
The participants need to know the WHO 5x5 approach and should have a basic understanding of NCD risk factors and the prevention, treatment and control of NCDs.
Attendance: Maximum number of students (including tropEd students): 20
Selection: First come, first served
Fees: tropEd students: 750 EUR
General admission: 1000 EUR
Scholarships: None
Student evaluation: Due to Covid-19 and other challenges, the course so far was only implemented in 2019. The content of the different lectures/sessions was on average rated between 3.6 and 4.5 out of maximum 5 points . The importance of the content was rated between 3.7 and 4.7. The guided group work was rated between 4 and 4.3, its importance as well between 4 and 4.3.
Lessons learned: The group work was well perceived and many participants did not yet have the skills at hand to properly conduct a situational analysis or critical appraisal of the evidence. Teaching these skills is more important than elaborating on certain NCD facts (e.g. the prevalence of CVDs in certain countries), since these facts can always easily be looked up. More important is understanding the measures and critically assess the data quality.
tropEd accreditation: Accredited in Berlin in 2018 and in EC TelCo in November 2023. This accreditation is valid until November 2028.
Remarks: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(17)32443-1/fulltext
https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040218-043706
This course was developed by the NCD research group of the Institute of Global Health in Heidelberg. The target group are professionals/students with a background in NCDs and an interest in working in NCD capacity building, data generation, and service delivery in low- and middle-income countries. This course is jointly coordinated by Dr. Volker Winkler and Dr. Andreas Deckert (both Institute of Global Health Heidelberg). External lecturers will contribute to the individual sessions.
Email Address: anne-kathrin.fabricius@uni-heidelberg.de
Date Of Record Creation: 2023-11-29 10:04:59 (W3C-DTF)
Date Of Record Release: 2023-11-29 16:11:59 (W3C-DTF)
Date Record Checked: 2023-11-29 (W3C-DTF)
Date Last Modified: 2024-10-16 07:46:41 (W3C-DTF)