Hilde Bastiaens, Principal Investigator and Project Coordinator, and Geofrey Musinguzi, Project Manager of Horizon 2020 funded SPICES reveal why engaging with communities is important in preventing cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are still the leading cause of death worldwide.
Not only cardiovascular diseases but non-communicable diseases as a whole account for more than three-quarters of deaths worldwide, 85% of them occur in Low and Middle income (LMIC) settings. Furthermore, many deaths are preventable by lifestyle and treating risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity and pre-diabetes. To change your lifestyle is difficult.
Not only is it difficult within oneself to make those lifestyle changes on an individual level, but these changes are also embedded within a culture and socio-economic reality. For example, within our society, pollution plays a role or stress plays a role, so it is really a very complex interplay of factors that makes preventing cardiovascular disease challenging.
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