AWARENESS AND BARRIERS IN IMPLEMENTING COST-EFFECTIVE WHO PACKAGE OF ESSENTIAL NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES IN PAKISTAN

Dr. Sufian Muhammad Zahid*, Dr. Maria Salimee, Muhammad Uzair Sultan, Dr. Arshia Bilal, Dr. Hamid Shafiq and Dr. Sayema Awais

ABSTRACT

Objective: To determine awareness regarding WHO Package of Essential Non-communicable (PEN) disease interventions among House Officers working in the outpatient department of multiple tertiary healthcare centers of Sindh and Punjab and identify the barriers they perceive to implementing WHO PEN. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was done over a period of 1 year from September 2022 to August 2023. A total of 320 House Officers participated in the study for assessment of awareness regarding WHO PEN disease interventions, using Google Forms in English. Results: Data was collected from private and public tertiary care hospital house officers. The survey showed that most of the doctors (66%) had not heard the term WHO Package of Essential Non-Communicable Disease Interventions for primary health care, and the level of knowledge among doctors of the public sector was higher than in the private sector. Besides knowledge, the most important reported barriers to the management of non-communicable diseases included insufficient medicines (91%), non-availability of equipment (87%), and non-availability of laboratory services (78%). Other notable barriers included lack of manpower/ trained staff (57%), long working hours (69%), and time constraints due to increased patient numbers (79%). Conclusion: Effective management of non-communicable diseases requires healthcare professionals to be familiar with cost-effective WHO PEN guidelines, receive tailored training programs, and have comprehensive policy reforms to address barriers and adjust national healthcare priorities in a low-resource country like Pakistan.

Keywords: WHO, Non-communicable diseases, Package of Essential Non-Communicable Diseases, House Officers, Barriers.