Assessment of risk factors for Non-Communicable diseases among a cohort of community health workers in Western Cape, South Africa

Abstract

Community Health Workers (CHWs) have been identified as the key health professionals to drive the agenda of the prevention of health risk behaviours, linked to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in South Africa. They are regarded as the agents of change, who will provide impetus to the achievement of the health behaviour goals, set out by the South African National Department of Health1 . However, this cohort, may suffer from an array of NCDs. There are various risk factors that influence the health of individuals and contribute to NCDs, including modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors, which cannot be changed, or altered by an intervention, such as age, family history, gender and ethnicity2,3. Modifiable risk factors have been classified as behavioural, physical, and biological4 . Globally, NCDs are responsible for 80% of premature deaths in LMICs5,6. In response to the NCD pandemic, the World Health Organisation (WHO) set a global target in 2012, which was aimed at reducing premature deaths, caused by NCDs, by 25%, by the year 20257 . However, this goal will require drastic, immediate, and targeted approaches that address the root causes of NCDs. South Africa has followed the global trend, and evidence depicts an increase in NCDs8 , with a 27% probability of dying between the ages of 30 and 70 years, as a result of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), diabetes, cancers, or chronic respiratory conditions7,9. This is similar to other countries such as India (26%), Philippines (28%), Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (27%), Mali (26%), Russian Federation (30%), Ukraine (28%) , Tajikistan (29%), Fiji (31%), Afghanistan (31%) and Armenia (31%)9 In the Western Cape, the prevalence of chronic diseases of lifestyle raises major concerns about the communities’ health risk behaviour. The Burden of Disease Survey for the Western Cape, which was released on 24 April 2017, reported that NCDs contributed to 61% of deaths in the Western Province10