The International Primary Care Respiratory Group (IPCRG) has launched a petition in support of its Fresh Air Uganda study in response to what it says is a growing threat in the region, with COPD expected to surpass HIV/AIDs as the third-leading cause of death in Africa by 2025. The epidemiological study in rural Uganda will involve 600 people over the age of 30, evenly split between males and females, and is funded by a grant from Mundipharma.
Goals of the study, according to IPCRG are:
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“To educate and train local healthcare workers in the knowledge of COPD to ensure they are able to identify feasible options and then set priorities on the basis of current evidence
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To conduct a population-based epidemiological study on prevalence and severity of COPD, and its risk factors particularly tobacco smoking and indoor air pollution in resource-poor settings of a rural area
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To evaluate the burden of COPD in terms of its impact on quality of life, activity limitations, respiratory symptoms, and use of health care services in resource-poor settings of a rural area
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To measure the direct exposure to biomass smoke (PM25), 24-hour mean exposure, in the indoor environment of resource-poor settings of a rural area, combined with a qualitative assessment of the cooking tradition and behaviour of people with COPD.”
The petition calls on “health policy makers to make the respiratory health of sub-saharan communities a priority and implement culturally appropriate interventions to control COPD and its risk factors, to halt this growing epidemic. We support the International Primary Care Respiratory Group’s (IPCRG) FRESH AIR study as an example of ‘innovative research relevant to the African context’ that will enable us to quantify the problem in Uganda and test solutions addressing exposure to tobacco and indoor smoke.”
Read the IPCRG press release.
