Washington, DC, April 19, 2024. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) hosted public health officials, policy advisors and epidemiologists from the Ministry of Tourism and Public Health and the Public Health Agency of Aruba for a data analysis meeting to examine the results and impacts of the STEPS survey conducted in the country in 2023.
Aruba conducted the STEPS household NCD survey from March to July 2023. The survey covers areas such as smoking, alcohol consumption, diet, physical activity, hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol, lifestyle counseling, cancer screening, and mental health. The findings indicate the magnitude of the burden and common risk factors for these diseases, endangering the health system’s ability to adequately manage and implement customized policies and interventions. Aruban health officials will formally present the results of the STEPS survey at a public event on May 17th.
The three-day workshop aimed to interpret survey findings and discuss strategies to help health services plan priorities and monitor and evaluate interventions across populations, while strengthening national surveillance capacities.The workshop brought together experts from all NCD and risk factor areas within the organisation, including tobacco control, harmful use of alcohol, nutrition, physical activity and primary health care.
Among the key areas of future action identified at the workshop, country teams highlighted overweight and obesity, alcohol use, and disease management, particularly hypertension, diabetes, and cancer screening. To evaluate possible courses of action, participants learned about and considered the implementation of PAHO’s new initiative, Better Care for NCDs, an integrated approach to improve NCD management in primary health care. Better Care for NCDs is PAHO’s flagship initiative that fosters and integrates various initiatives already undertaken by many countries, such as HEARTS for cardiovascular disease, MPOWER for tobacco, SHAKE and REPLACE for nutrition, the Global Diabetes Pact, and strategies for cervical and breast cancer.
Addressing the first level of care at an early stage and utilizing standardized diagnostic and treatment protocols will improve diagnosis, treatment and ongoing follow-up care to prevent premature deaths and address the major concerns expressed by the country. Better Care for NCDs focuses on identifying population needs to improve primary care for NCDs, engaging with communities, increasing primary care provider capacity and access to essential NCD medicines and technologies, and strengthening facility-based data collection and monitoring on NCD diagnosis, treatment and outcomes. The 2023 Aruba STEPS survey marks a major milestone in understanding the population health status with respect to NCDs and their risk factors.
How is the STEPS survey conducted?
The STEPwise Approach to NCD Risk Factor Surveillance (STEPS) is a simple, sequential, and standardized method for collecting, analysing, and disseminating data on key NCD risk factors in each country. STEPS is a household survey that collects information through face-to-face interviews (Step 1), anthropometric measurements of blood pressure, height, and weight (Step 2), and collection of urine and blood samples for biochemical analysis of glucose and cholesterol (Step 3). Implementing STEPS ensures that data can be compared within and between countries through standardized data collection.
