ABOUT

WHY

Many countries struggle to find the best way to treat hypertension and type 2 diabetes, therefore many patients receive suboptimal care, especially vulnerable groups in society. SCUBY is unique as it allows to learn from best practices: comparing and reciprocal learning will lead to roadmaps that will help policymakers in deploying best practices and improving standard care for these health conditions.

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WHAT

In the core of this four-year project is the scale-up of an integrated care package with five components: (a) identification of people with hypertension and/or type 2 diabetes and subsequent (b) treatment in primary care services, (c) health education and (d) self-management support to patients and caregivers, and (e) collaboration between caregivers. Special attention is given to vulnerable patients and their carers’ involvement. We aim for strong scale-up and increased diabetes and hypertension control in each country.

HOW

We engage with key decision-makers at all levels, to identify opportunities and barriers to implement best practices at larger scale, and to support implementation relevant to the context of each country. We will  evaluate how these care packages impact outcomes and efficiency of the scale-up in each involved country. The lessons on scale-up will benefit policy-makers in other countries with similar contexts.

WHO 

Five research groups study three different types of countries:  a low-middle income country with  developing health system (Cambodia), a former socialist high-income country with a centralized health system (Slovenia) and a Western European federal country with  decentralized primary care system (Belgium).