NCD Risk Reduction Training in Nursing Curriculum

Sonali

Introduction

The current education of healthcare professionals does not prepare them adequately for NCD risk reduction strategies (Talwar K, Grover A, Thakur J., 2011) (Pati et al., 2019).The limited research in this area has so far focused on examining medical curriculum for its effectiveness in training MBBS students on NCD risk identification, education, and screening. Nurses and midwives who account for 47% of India’s health workforce are well placed to reduce risk factors associated with NCDs by implementing policies on smoke-free environments and smoking cessation interventions, promoting physical activity, providing dietary education and guidance, screening for high blood glucose and blood pressure and preventing and treating the harmful use of alcohol (WHO, 2012).The community health officers (CHO’s) heading the health and wellness centres under the Ayushman Bharat program are well suited for this role. Currently almost 80% of the CHOs working at Health and wellness centres are nurses. However, there are no studies that examine the effectiveness of nursing curriculum for training nurses on NCD risk reduction strategies.

This study had three purposes. First, to develop an ontological framework to guide NCD risk reduction training in nursing education.  Second, to map existing undergraduate course curricula for its content on NCD risk reduction training. And, third, to recommend changes to bridge the gaps in the curricula.

Research Approach

An ontological framework to guide NCD risk reduction education in nursing curriculum was developed based on extensive review of literature. The validity/appropriateness of the framework with regards to inclusion of concepts that relate to common NCDs, risk factors, education (curricular, clinical, and field), and training (identification, intervention, and involvement) was confirmed by conducting an online round table discussion with subject experts from nursing education, community medicine, and representatives of NGOs working for NCD care.

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