Chiyembekezo Kachimanga, Katie Cundale, Emily Wroe, Lawrence Nazimera, Arnold Jumbe, Elizabeth Dunbar, Noel Kalanga
As Malawi continues to suffer from a large burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), models for NCD screening need to be developed that do not overload a health system that is already heavily burdened by communicable diseases.
This descriptive study examined 3 screening programmes for NCDs in Neno, Malawi, that were implemented from June 2015 to December 2016. The NCD screening models were integrated into existing platforms, utilising regular mass screening events in the community, patients awaiting to be seen in a combined NCD and HIV clinic, and patients awaiting treatment at outpatient departments (OPDs). Since the initiation of the screening programmes, the number of patients ever enrolled for NCD care every 3 months has nearly tripled, from 40 to 114.
The screening models have shown that it is not only feasible to introduce NCD screening into a public system, but screening may have also contributed to increased enrolment in NCD care in Neno, Malawi.