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Background: Hypertension (HTN) and diabetes mellitus (DM) are highly prevalent in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) and a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Recent evidence on effectiveness of primary care interventions has attracted renewed calls for their implementation. This review aims to synthesize evidence pertaining to primary care interventions on these two diseases, evaluated and tested in LMICs., Methods: Two reviewers conducted an electronic search of three databases (Pubmed, EMBASE and Web of Science) and screened for eligible articles. Interventions covering health promotion, prevention, treatment, or rehabilitation activities at the PHC or community level were included. Studies published in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish, from January 2007 to January 2017, were included. Key extraction variables included the 12 criteria identified by the Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) checklist and guide. The Innovative Care for Chronic Conditions Framework (ICCCF) was used to guide analysis and reporting of results., Results: 198 articles were analyzed. The strategies focused on healthcare service organization (76.5%), community level (9.7 %), creating a positive policy environment (3.6%) and strategies covering multiple domains (10.2%). Studies included related to the following topics: description or testing of interventions (n=81; 41.3%), implementation or evaluation projects (n=42; 21.4%), quality improvement initiatives (n=15; 7.7%), screening and prevention efforts (n=26; 13.2%), management of HTN or DM (n=13; 6.6%), integrated health services (n=10; 5.1%), knowledge and attitude surveys (n=5; 2.5%), cost-effective lab tests (n=2; 1%) and policy making efforts (n=2; 1%). Most studies reported interventions by non-specialists (n=86; 43.4%) and multidisciplinary teams (n=49; 25.5%)., Conclusion: Only 198 articles were found over a 10 year period which demonstrates the limited published research on highly prevalent diseases in LMIC. This review shows the variety and complexity of approaches that have been tested to address HTN and DM in LMICs and highlights the elements of interventions needed to be addressed in order to strengthen delivery of care. Most studies reported little information regarding implementation processes to allow replication. Given the need for multi-component complex interventions, study designs and evaluation techniques will need to be adapted by including process evaluations versus simply effectiveness or outcome evaluations.

Introduction: There is an increasing commitment in the African Region towards diabetes care, following acknowledgement that it is an important public health issue which needs to be addressed in order to improve population health. We conducted a situational analysis of diabetes care in Guinea Bissau in order to identify the main issues faced in the management of the disease in this country., Methods: The study design was qualitative and data collection was done using semi directive interviews and focus groups with participants involved in primary diabetes care and management in Guinea Bissau (health care professionals, non-governmental organization staff, traditional healers) and patients. The data was analyzed using the five-phase approach of the thematic analysis framework., Results: The major themes identified included: the lack of specialists and properly trained healthcare personnel; no standardized care protocol for diagnosis, treatment, follow up and proper management for diabetic patients; resources poor primary health care settings; no validated epidemiological dataset on prevalence and the lack of awareness about diabetes (in general population and also in medical staff)., Conclusion: This first situational analysis can serve as a baseline to develop an action plan to address the main issues identified., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interest., (© Jorge César Correia et al.)

Type 2 diabetes is a potentially reversible disease. Patient education encompasses a deep investment of the health care providers, who with the aid of pedagogic tools, help the pa tient commit to this path. This facilitates the learning of uncommon knowledge and skills required. Whether or not it leads to a complete remission of the disease may not be the main purpose. The main goal lies in the patient's motivation to learn and change on a long term basis.