Strategies for Stakeholders Engagement to establish Chronic Respiratory Disease management program in low resource settings in India

Clinical Research Results Abstract Research Idea Abstract Service Development & Evaluation Abstract Aim: To outline the strategies used to engage key stakeholders to establish a chronic respiratory disease management program in a resource constrained health system.Outline of context: Chronic Respiratory Diseases (CRD) that include asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), bronchiectasis are common public health problems with high prevalence and mortality rates across the world, more so in the developing countries.1,2 . A large proportion of the population does not have access to good quality medical care. This is aggravated by the fact that there are a number of myths and beliefs surrounding these diseases. Treatment is also not uniform across healthcare providers and very few protocols are followed.Description of change: Most health programs engage only the health providers and patients. We hypothesised engaging all stakeholders involved in improving the access to evidence based care for CRD will have better results for overall care.Strategy for change: Various stakeholders in CRD management were identified (Fig.1). The patients and community members were engaged through talks, video-shows, puppet theatre and pamphlets. Influential people in the community were organized into a community advisory group which helped shape all other activities with their inputs. Practitioners from the district were sensitised through CME where the latest guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment for CRDs were discussed. For practitioners in remote areas across the country, an online course was organised. .Impact: Engaging patients and community members improved the uptake of services provided. The advisory group gave a lot of inputs which streamlined the program. Practitioners reported an improvement in their own diagnosis and treatment methods. A few practitioners also started to engage in local research on CRDs.Lessons learnt: The feedback from all the stakeholders was positive. Engaging a wider group promote the acceptance of new health care initiatives in the community better.Message for others: Stakeholder engagement is a key component of service delivery. Declaration of Interest Declaration of interest: We have no potential conflicts of interest to report References and Clinical Trial Registry Information 1 Salvi SS, Manap R, Beasley R. Understanding the true burden of COPD: The epidemiological challenges. Prim Care Respir J. Primary Care Respiratory Society UK; 2012;21: 249–251. doi:10.4104/pcrj.2012.00082 2 Banda HT, Thomson R, Mortimer K, Bello GAF, Mbera B, Malmborg R, et al. Community prevalence of chronic respiratory symptoms in rural Malawi : Implications for policy. 2017;1623: 1–13.