Ugandan village health teams (VHTs) as agents for NCD prevention and management

Research in the Iganga and Mayuge districts of Eastern Uganda explored non-communicable disease (NCD) knowledge, attitudes, and practices of village health teams (VHTs). Focus group discussions and questionnaires were used to collect data from 68 VHT members.

The results revealed high agreement among VHTs that NCDs are an issue and common in Uganda (82%). However, NCD knowledge was low: for diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease, the percentage of participants who disclosed “knowing nothing or only heard the term before” was about 24% and 71%, respectively. Despite this, the VHTs demonstrated promising NCD behavioural prevention practices: about 83% reported advising community members of the harms of both smoking and drinking alcohol.

VHTs were enthusiastic about expanding their current roles and becoming agents for prevention and management of NCDs in their respective communities with formal NCD training and support from medical personnel. For more information, read the full research study here.