WG-2
Advocacy for Action
Claude Lenfant, USA
Archie Turnbull, Switzerland
Paul van Cauwenberge, Belgium
AWARENESS, to raise the
attention to the problem
DISSEMINATION, of what to
do, what to recommend
AWARENESS, to raise the
attention to the problem
DISSEMINATION, of what to
do, what to recommend
Why do we want to raise the
attention to the problem?
The problem is important, it affects
many and we know we can do
something about it
and
If we don’t know about it, we can’t do
something about it!
“The key elements of effective
control of the CRDs in the
community include an
improvement of the awareness
of CRDs among health
professionals and the
population at large, and, more
specifically, among the
individuals with CRDs”.
Source: WHO Technical Report Series No. 869. 1996
Specifically, who should be
made aware?
Government
Health and Finance officials
Communities leaders
Media: TV and Newspapers
Foundations
Academic and Physicians groups
Patients and Public at large
Private sector: business
Is there a standard, single
approach to increase awareness?
NO!
It will vary from country
to country, based on
economic status, health
care system, culture,
population density, etc.
AWARENESS, to raise the
attention to the problem
DISSEMINATION, of what to
do, what to recommend
Dissemination is different from
Awareness with regard to:
Goal
Target
Content
The Goal is to provide evidence
that something can be done
Strategies and interventions have been
tested, and they work
Prevention is effective for many CRDs
Most patients with CRD can be treated
effectively
The Target is primarily the
Health Care Professionals
Doctors
Physician assistants
Nurses
Pharmacists
Social workers
Whenever possible,
patients should also be
educated so that they
become “partners”.
The Content should be derived
from existing guidelines.
Local experts and professional
societies must adapt guidelines to
local situations.
The choice of the guideline is
important, but not as much as
applying/using what is known.
Awareness and Dissemination
are essential for success,
but to be effective they must
be continuous processes.