Activities

The work plan comprises three work packages structured thematically along the first three objectives, and for ease of management according to the profile of the different partners involved. A fourth work package has been designed specifically to meet the last objective, that is the elaboration of intervention strategies based on the preceding studies.

• WP 1: 

The precise evaluation of where the two countries stand for chronic non-communicable versus other diseases will be done through complementary studies on the mortality burden at national and regional level, on the morbidity and disability burden of disease in selected public and private health centres and at population level, and on the prevalence of immediate risk factors related to the pattern of morbidity. The relevant costs for the health system or for patients of various approaches to treatment will also be estimated.

• WP 2: 

The environmental, socio-economic and food/nutrition determinants will be characterised through building a comprehensive conceptual framework of the epidemiological transition in Maghrebian countries, and of its consequences for health on a multidisciplinary basis. It will be backed up with analyses and mapping of existing data and by surveys on local environmental and household/individual characteristics of lifestyle, including access to various resources, food consumption and physical activity patterns.

• WP 3: 

Knowledge will be generated on the attitudes and practices of the different actors (population groups, health professionals and decision-makers) in relation to the epidemiological transition and its health consequences, and their capacity to effect change in behaviour, through a qualitative approach (focus group discussions, individual interviews, policy documents analysis) and quantification of attitudinal scales at a population level (all surveys at population level in the study will be conducted on the same sample).

• WP 4: 

All the findings from the preceding work packages will be analysed in terms of health inequalities, priorities and cost effective strategies to promote better health and lifestyles. It will be combined with the results of a literature review of the effectiveness of interventions conducted in industrialised countries, on a population level, and discussed with relevant key decision-makers to develop locally adapted and feasible intervention strategies.