Global Perspectives on Improving Chronic Disease Prevention and Management in Diverse Settings

Abstract

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) define chronic diseases as conditions that last 1 year or more and that require ongoing medical attention or limit activities of daily living, or both (1). Chronic diseases may be influenced by a combination of genetics, lifestyle and social behaviors, health care system factors, community influences, and environmental determinants of health (2). These risk factors often coexist and interact with each other. Therefore, a better understanding of determinants of chronic diseases such as tobacco use, unhealthy eating, and physical inactivity stands to benefit from effective strategies for improving primary, secondary, and tertiary disease prevention and management in diverse global settings (3). Strategies to prevent and manage chronic disease outcomes such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have global commonalities (4-7). The impact of chronic diseases is disproportionately evident in Black and Brown communities (8,9). Chronic disease prevention and management typically focus on behavioral interventions such as healthy eating, increased physical activity, and cessation of unhealthy practices such as tobacco and alcohol use (10-15). In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic added to the fact that chronic diseases disproportionately affect low-resource communities, where many Black and Brown populations live (16,17). COVID-19 demonstrated that chronic disease disparities actually present as preexisting conditions in Black and Brown communities, who are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 outcomes. Although most of the articles in this Preventing Chronic Disease (PCD) collection were published before the pandemic, the insights they present, combined with the racial and ethnic data on the burden of COVID-19 thus far, support this reality. Many researchers and public health practitioners often consider the need to sufficiently address the relationships between chronic diseases and social, behavioral, and community factors (18). Global lessons in the prevention and management of chronic diseases, therefore, can help researchers and practitioners benefit from the shared lessons and experience derived from research and interventions conducted in different parts of the world. There are more than 7 billion people worldwide, who speak diverse languages and who have different nationalities, identities, and health systems. Yet, if we share challenges and opportunities for chronic disease prevention and management, many of the global adversities to improving health and well-being can be ameliorated, which is the purpose of this collection. The authors in this collection share lessons that represent experiences in diverse contexts across countries and regions of the world.