Three Years Community-Based Intervention Program to Prevent Non-communicable Disease Risk Factors in Sousse, Tunisia

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of a community-based intervention program for NCD (non-communicable disease) risk factors prevention. Materials and methods: The authors conducted a quasi experimental study with a control group over five years between 2009 and 2014 in the region of Sousse, Tunisia. In each group, the sample size required was 1,000 participants. For this, the authors randomly selected 500 households from two areas and they included all adults aged 18 years and older in these households. They evaluated the habits of participants from both intervention and control groups at baseline in 2009-2010 and after three years of intervention in 2013-2014. They focused on the main lifestyle risk factors represented by poor diet, physical inactivity, and tobacco use. Results: Tobacco use decreased significantly among men by 7.3% (p = 0.03) in the intervention group, versus an increase of 3.5% in the control group (p = 0.4). Physical activity and fruits and vegetables intake increased significantly respectively by 25% (p < 0.001) and 19% (p < 0.001) in intervention group. Conclusion: The results suggest that a combined community-based lifestyle intervention in a developing country, can significantly improve some NCD risk factors. However, a supportive environment or a gender approach is required to maximize the effectiveness and maintain the sustainability of the health intervention.