Menzies Centre for Health Policy and Economics, Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, No. 2W21/Level 2, Charles Perkins Centre D17, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.
Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Saudi Electronic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Health Res Policy Syst. 2022 Jun 13;20(1):63. doi: 10.1186/s12961-022-00872-9.
Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are responsible for an increasing disease and economic burden in Saudi Arabia, particularly those due to chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Efforts are being made to improve chronic disease control through greater prevention and disease management. This research examines the scope, comprehensiveness and perceived effectiveness of Saudi Arabia's national policies and strategies to prevent and control NCDs and their risk factors.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 managers of the Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia. The interviewees were public health leaders, national programme directors and programme implementation staff. The interviews were transcribed and coded into key themes.
Interviewee responses indicated a belief that Ministry of Health programmes for the prevention and control of NCDs have achieved initial success, but have not yet been adequately evaluated. Interviewees reported faster development and implementation of policies for tobacco, sugar-sweetened drinks and obesity than for physical activity. Major challenges identified included inefficient programme management and low community awareness. There was a reported need for greater emphasis on health promotion and improving the effectiveness of existing multisectoral coordination.
Effective national NCD policies and strategies have a critical role to play in the control of chronic disease epidemics. In Saudi Arabia, opportunities exist to improve the policy and strategies in response to NCDs by establishing a comprehensive surveillance system and linking epidemiological surveillance with health programme evaluation, as well as using a multisectoral and integrated approach. For better management and control of NCDs, a cohesive multisectoral collaboration with a comprehensive surveillance programme and adequate evaluation is urgently needed.
非传染性疾病（NCDs）在沙特阿拉伯造成的疾病和经济负担日益加重，尤其是糖尿病和心血管疾病等慢性病。正在努力通过加强预防和疾病管理来改善慢性病控制。这项研究考察了沙特阿拉伯预防和控制 NCD 及其危险因素的国家政策和战略的范围、全面性和可感知效果。
对沙特阿拉伯卫生部的 25 名管理人员进行了半结构式访谈。受访者是公共卫生领域的领导者、国家方案主任和方案实施人员。对访谈进行了转录和编码，以提取关键主题。
受访者的回应表明，他们认为卫生部预防和控制 NCD 的方案已经取得了初步成功，但尚未得到充分评估。受访者报告说，烟草、含糖饮料和肥胖的政策制定和实施速度快于体育活动。确定的主要挑战包括方案管理效率低下和社区意识低下。据报道，需要更加重视健康促进，并提高现有多部门协调的效果。
有效的国家 NCD 政策和战略在控制慢性病流行方面发挥着至关重要的作用。在沙特阿拉伯，有机会通过建立全面的监测系统，将流行病学监测与卫生方案评估联系起来，以及采用多部门和综合的方法，来改进针对 NCD 的政策和战略。为了更好地管理和控制 NCD，迫切需要一个具有全面监测方案和充分评估的凝聚力强的多部门协作。
