SURVEILLANCE

Working in partnership with the Governmental and Non-Governmental sectors, we have established a network of approximately 200 Health Observatories in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, which are distributed in both rural and urban settings. The Health Observatories are selected to be broadly representative of the major ethnic, economic and demographic diversities of the South Asian countries.

We have commissioned a purpose-built database to facilitate robust collection, secure storage and appropriate sharing and exploitation of population health data. Our structured assessment includes a range of physical measurements of the study participant, which includes: blood pressure measurement using Omrom BP HEM-9210T device; anthropometry (height, weight, waist and hip circumference bio-impedance for body fat composition); cardiac evaluation by MAC 2000 ECG machine to identify arrhythmia, LVH and previous myocardial infarction; retinal photography for assessment of retinal disease, including hypertensive and diabetic retinopathy; respiratory evaluation by spirometry to assess for smoking/environment-related lung injury; point of care testing; and physical activity monitoring using Axivity AX3 device.

The ambition is that this project will provide robust data to quantify needs, inform priorities and provide a framework for evaluation of healthcare interventions targeted at improving prevention and disease management of T2D and CVD in South Asia.