MOCCA (Management of Chronic Conditions in Africa)

MOCCA (Management of Chronic Conditions in Africa) is being conducted in ten health facilities (five in Uganda and five in Tanzania) with this partnership. The research is being co-ordinated by staff at the 3 main partners (LSTM, UVRI/MRC/LSHTM, NIMR) and involves teams of clinical, social science and health economics researchers.

  • Preliminary findings suggest support for integration from both health care providers and patients but this needs confirmation in a large study with follow-up over a longer period of time. A limited drug supply for NCDs will likely be the major hurdle to getting people into care. Integration is cross-cutting across all points of health service delivery and care. Other areas to be considered during integration, besides clinical and counselling services, include; records/data management, clinic re-organization including managing the waiting areas and drugs purchasing.

NIHR Research Group

  • The Group’s vision is to improve the health outcomes of people with chronic life-long conditions in Africa through research. We will evaluate integrated approaches for the prevention and management of HIV-infection, diabetes and hypertension. This research will be designed to inform policy and practice.
  • We are presently laying the foundation – building partnerships with health care providers and policy makers, and building capacity in people. We defined the initial research questions together, and are now conducting pilot studies that will inform the design of future largescale research studies.
  • The research partnership is between LSTM and MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit at LSHTM, in Uganda and NIMR in Tanzania. We also work very closely with TASO in Uganda, Ministries of Health in Tanzania and Uganda and Hindu Mandal Hospital in Tanzania.
  • The partners have previously conducted large-scale collaborative research on infections and will use this platform to nurture the new group on the HIV-NCDs interface and ultimately establish an internationally leading research Unit. Throughout, we are focusing on rigorous policy-relevant research that has immediate benefits for patients. We are developing staff capacity and strengthening the partnerships with health care providers and policy makers. Our aim is to create a collegial environment that is able attract and retain staff in this new research area.
MOCCA