Table 1. Barriers and strategies in the implementation of prevention and patient education CVD policies in sSA.

Barriers to implementation of prevention and patient education CVD policies

Competing priorities

Technology-based interventions

Inadequate epidemiological data

Poor presentation of messages to policy makers and the media

Failure to recognize the importance of prevention and cost effectiveness

Anonymity

Economic and social restraints

Lack of community mobilization

Strategies for implementation of prevention and patient education CVD policies

Campaigns to reduce dietary salt intake and increase accessibility to low-sodium foods

Development and distribution region-specific hypertension guidelines

Increased awareness of CVD risk factors through television, Internet and social media

Promotion the use of generic prescriptions

Provision of free screening of CVD and HTN in specialized clinics and in public areas, such as malls and churches (13)

CVD, cardiovascular disease; HTN, incidence of hypertension; sSA, sub-Saharan Africa.