Country activities of Global Alliance against Chronic Respiratory Diseases (GARD): focus presentations at the 11th GARD General Meeting, Brussels

© Journal of Thoracic Disease. All rights reserved.The Global Alliance against Chronic Respiratory Diseases (GARD) is a voluntary network of national and international organizations, institutions and agencies led by the World Health Organization (WHO), working towards the vision of a world where all people breathe freely (1). GARD is supporting WHO in successfully implementing the WHO’s Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) 2013–2020. The GARD report on GARD activities is published on a regular basis. Collaboration among GARD countries is critical for sharing experiences and providing technical assistance to developing countries based on each country’s needs (2). The annual GARD meeting is a unique opportunity for assembling all of the GARD participants from developed and developing countries: European countries, North and South American Countries, China, Vietnam as well as Eastern Mediterranean, and African countries. Coordinator for Management of NCDs in the WHO Department for Management of Noncommunicable Diseases, Disability, Violence and Injury Prevention (Cherian Varghese) is present at this meeting. The annual meeting of GARD is a forum for exchanging opinions in order to improve care for chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) and to achieve the GARD goal—a world where all people breathe freely. Experts—in collaboration with WHO—are helping developing countries to achieve their projects regarding teaching, research and programming for CRD. Each year, there is a poster presentation session on country activities. Each participant is able to present his/her country activities that have been achieved since the last meeting. This is followed by discussion. In this paper, we summarize the posters presented during the 11th GARD general meeting. We hope that this will give readers of the GARD section an opportunity to learn for their countries. We can find all posters on the link: https://gard-breathefreely.org/resources-poster/.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Longitudinal associations between number of cigarettes per day and depressive symptoms in adult smokers with type 2 diabetes: A path analysis approach

Objective: Three theoretical models describe the direction of the association between depressive symptoms and cigarettes per day (CPD) in smokers: 1) CPD predicts subsequent depressive symptoms, 2) depressive symptoms predict CPD, and 3) there is a bidirectional relation between CPD and depressive symptoms. The objective of the study was to compare the fit of these three theoretical models to data from a community-based sample of adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D) who smoke cigarettes. Methods: Data were from adults with T2D who participated in the Evaluation of Diabetes Treatment Study. At baseline, 296 participants reported being a current smoker and were included in the analyses. Measures of CPD and depressive symptoms were collected annually over four years. Path models corresponding to the three directionality hypotheses were estimated. Model fit was compared, and the best fitting model was selected on the basis of Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC). Results: The path model depicting a unidirectional association from CPD to subsequent depressive symptoms had the lowest AIC value (7110.94) and was thus identified as the best fitting model. Although some paths within the model did not meet conventional levels of statistical significance, in general, more CPD predicted higher levels of depressive symptoms at subsequent follow-up points. Conclusion: Amongst smokers with T2D, a primary smoking model, in which smoking precedes depressive symptoms, may best explain the longitudinal association between CPD and depressive symptoms. These findings further justify the need for early smoking cessation in diabetes care

Cross-sectoral integration in youth-focused health and social services in Canada: a social network analysis

Abstract Background Youth with concurrent substance use and mental health concerns have diverse psychosocial needs and may present to a multitude of clinical and social service sectors. By integrating service sectors at a system level, the diversity of needs of youth with concurrent disorders can be addressed in a more holistic way. The objective of the present study was to quantify the level of cross-sectoral integration in youth-focused services in Canada. Methods Social network analysis (SNA) was used to examine the relationships between eight sectors: addictions, child welfare, education, physical health, housing, mental health, youth justice, and other social services. A total of 597 participants representing twelve networks of youth-serving agencies across Canada provided information on their cross-sectoral contacts and referrals. Results Overall, results suggested a moderate level of integration between sectors. The mental health and the addictions sectors demonstrated only moderate integration, while the addictions sector was strongly connected with the youth justice sector. Conclusions Despite evidence of moderate integration, increased integration is called for to better meet the needs of youth with concurrent mental health and substance use concerns across youth-serving sectors. Ongoing efforts to enhance the integration between youth-serving sectors should be a primary focus in organizing networks serving youth with concurrent mental health and substance use needs