• Media type: E-Article
  • Title: Integrated prevention and management of non-communicable diseases, including musculoskeletal health: a systematic policy analysis among OECD countries
  • Contributor: Briggs, Andrew M; Persaud, Jennifer G; Deverell, Marie L; Bunzli, Samantha; Tampin, Brigitte; Sumi, Yuka; Amundsen, Olav; Houlding, Elizabeth MG; Cardone, Anontella; Hugosdottir, Thora; Rogers, Sophia; Pozsgai, Miklós; Slater, Helen
  • imprint: BMJ, 2019
  • Published in: BMJ Global Health
  • Language: English
  • DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2019-001806
  • ISSN: 2059-7908
  • Origination:
  • Footnote:
  • Description: <jats:sec><jats:title>Introduction</jats:title><jats:p>Development and implementation of appropriate health policy is essential to address the rising global burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The aim of this study was to evaluate existing health policies for integrated prevention/management of NCDs among Member States of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). We sought to describe policies’ aims and strategies to achieve those aims, and evaluate extent of integration of musculoskeletal conditions as a leading cause of global morbidity.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods</jats:title><jats:p>Policies submitted by OECD Member States in response to a World Health Organization (WHO) NCD Capacity Survey were extracted from the WHO document clearing-house and analysed following a standard protocol. Policies were eligible for inclusion when they described an integrated approach to prevention/management of NCDs. Internal validity was evaluated using a standard instrument (sum score: 0–14; higher scores indicate better quality). Quantitative data were expressed as frequencies, while text data were content-analysed and meta-synthesised using standardised methods.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p>After removal of duplicates and screening, 44 policies from 30 OECD Member States were included. Three key themes emerged to describe the general aims of included policies: system strengthening approaches; improved service delivery; and better population health. Whereas the policies of most countries covered cancer (83.3%), cardiovascular disease (76.6%), diabetes/endocrine disorders (76.6%), respiratory conditions (63.3%) and mental health conditions (63.3%), only half the countries included musculoskeletal health and pain (50.0%) as explicit foci. General strategies were outlined in 42 (95.5%) policies—all were relevant to musculoskeletal health in 12 policies, some relevant in 27 policies and none relevant in three policies. Three key themes described the strategies: general principles for people-centred NCD prevention/management; enhanced service delivery; and system strengthening approaches. Internal validity sum scores ranged from 0 to 13; mean: 7.6 (95% CI 6.5 to 8.7).</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion</jats:title><jats:p>Relative to other NCDs, musculoskeletal health did not feature as prominently, although many general prevention/management strategies were relevant to musculoskeletal health improvement.</jats:p></jats:sec>
  • Access State: Open Access