KuMSA’s Hospital – KuMSA Kuwait

Name of the activity: KuMSA’s Hospital

Country/NMO: KuMSA Kuwait

Program: Healthy Lifestyles & Non-Communicable Diseases

Contact information: contact [email protected] to get in touch with the Activity Coordinator

Type of the activity: Continuous Activity

Category: Campaign

Focus area: Prevention of NCDs and Health Promotion, Cancer, Tobacco Prevention, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease

Sustainable Development Goals addressed: SDG 3 (Good health and well-being), SDG 17 (Partnerships)

General description:

The basic choices we make everyday can surprise us in the many ways they follow the butterfly effect, yet many of the consequences grow surreptitiously until it is too late to take action. The foods we eat, the activity routine we skip, the cigarette some smoke, and many other choices contribute to unimaginably harmful yet easily preventable damage to our bodies, which is where KuMSA’s hospital steps in: a campaign screening for conditions seen as a risk factor in practically every condition.

Problem statement:

Obesity, blood pressure, smoking, and high blood cholesterol levels are notoriously involved in most if not all diseases. While this fact should create a gap between itself and the prevalence of these factors, both have found a common ground in terms of skyrocketing numbers in Kuwait: 8 in 10 Kuwaitis are obese, 1/5th are diabetic and 1/8th are pre-diabetic, 39.2% of males and 4.4% of females are smokers, and so on. This poses an alarming question to everyone: who is aware? and to what extent?

Target groups:

• General population
• Medical students
• Healthcare Students
• Doctors
• Women
• Elderly people

Beneficiaries:

• General population
• Medical students
• Healthcare Students
• Other Students
• Doctors
• Other health professionals
• Children
• Youth
• Women
• People with disabilities
• Elderly people

Objectives:

1. A) Measure the BMI, blood glucose, blood pressure, pin-prick cholesterol levels and conduct a spirometry test to approximately 800 random volunteers approaching the campaign base
2. B) Establish a database involving the termly collection of addressed factors to be relayed to the Public Health authorities in the Ministry of Health (MoH)
3. C) Provide consultations based on the findings of the measured values and the personal information of the volunteer
4. D) Assess the nutrition of volunteers as a common ground contributor to the addressed factors and provide nutritional consultation based on their response as well as general health status and recorded information
5. A) Measure the BMI, blood glucose, blood pressure, pin-prick cholesterol levels and conduct a spirometry test to approximately 800 random volunteers approaching the campaign base
6. B) Establish a database involving the termly collection of addressed factors to be relayed to the Public Health authorities in the Ministry of Health (MoH)
7. C) Provide consultations based on the findings of the measured values and the personal information of the volunteer
8. D) Assess the nutrition of volunteers as a common ground contributor to the addressed factors and provide nutritional consultation based on their response as well as general health status and recorded information

Indicators of Success:

1. A) At least 600 individuals are aware of their BMI, random blood glucose levels, blood pressure, pin-prick cholesterol levels, and spirometry results as well as whether these values lie in their respective normal range B) Record the measured data of at least 400 individuals in a database and relay them to the Public Health authorities in the MoH C) Provide consultations to at least 600 individuals after acquiring all their measured data D) Collect the macronutrient distribution of the diets of at least 600 individuals and add the data onto the previously measured values and consult them according to their recorded data, general health status, and nutritional habits

Methodology:

An organising committee (OC) reflecting the structure of work required to establish the campaign is formed termly to redirect focus towards implementation and evolution, consisting of a head, vice-head, and program, logistics, registration, public relations, and media committees. The flow of the campaign is station-based, and participants are provided with an ID number and asked to rotate around the stations. In each station, the participants have the relevant factor measured by our volunteer students, and based on their personal information and the findings of the measurement, the family medicine physician attending the station will provide the patient with a consultation. Using the participant’s ID, the volunteer inputs the data into a tablet, all pooling into a unified database that is relayed to the Public Health department in the Ministry of Health.

Plans for evaluation:

The evaluation component is usually split into two parts: one involving the volunteers and another involving the participants. As for the volunteers, the evaluation is performed after the event is concluded for internal reference to improve the conduction of the campaign throughout the following terms. The participants usually complete an evaluation form at the start assessing their known diagnoses and knowledge of the conditions and their consequences. This term, unfortunately, there was not much interaction regarding the participants’ form (only 53 responses), and the volunteers’ evaluation form was not conducted (both will be taken into consideration for this term’s annual run of the campaign)

External collaborations:

Kuwait Board of Family Medicine: collaboration to provide family medicine physicians for the consultations

Coffee shops: provision of condiments and giveaways for the volunteers and participants

Dentist (iDentist): coupons for dentistry services at the clinic

Toothbrush manufacturer (Curaprox): giveaways

Gyms: discounts and coupons