UCT’s groundbreaking health tool expands in Brazil and Indonesia

The use of a pioneering tool developed by the University of Cape Town (UCT) to help primary health-care professionals make informed, evidence-based decisions to treat medical conditions is expanding in Brazil and Indonesia

The Practical Approach to Care Kit (Pack) was developed by the university's knowledge translation unit. It has been widely implemented in South Africa under the name Adult Primary Care and in Ethiopia as the Ethiopian Primary Healthcare Clinical Guidelines.

The tool is proving to be a vital lifeline for some as primary health-care systems worldwide confront challenges such as rising comorbidities, climate-driven shifts in disease patterns and infectious disease outbreaks.

Four recent papers in the BMJ Global Health journal flagged Pack’s contribution to sustainable, quality primary care across diverse settings. 

Co-author Dr Ruth Cornick, knowledge translation practitioner at UCT, said: “The papers reveal Pack’s resilience across different health-care environments. From managing chronic conditions over time to responding flexibly to infectious outbreaks, Pack is built to address the multifaceted needs of patients and health-care systems.”  

The papers highlight Pack success stories.

In Brazil, it assisted in the management of chronic respiratory disease. Pack implementation leader in Brazil Dr Ronaldo Zonta said the city of Florianópolis had witnessed sustained improvements in chronic respiratory disease management, including asthma and emphysema, thanks to Pack.  

“In our clinics Pack has, for eight years, proved to be a vital resource driving steady improvements in the management of conditions such as asthma and COPD,” said Zonta.  

“The study confirms Pack’s lasting role in advancing patient care over time.”  

Pack’s flexibility was also instrumental in Brazil’s response to outbreaks of Zika, Covid-19 and Mpox.  

“Pack helped improve basic health care in Florianópolis during outbreaks,” said Zonta.

“It’s a tool that enables health-care workers to adapt quickly to emergencies by integrating new clinical information.”  

Aklog Getnet from Ethiopia's ministry of health, who spearheads Pack’s national implementation, said it was integrated into the work of more than 90% of the country’s 3,500 primary health-care centres over five years.

Getnet said it had subsequently become a “standard of clinical care in our primary care facilities”.

TimesLIVE