WHO meeting on community control of stroke and hypertension: Copenhagen, Geneva, 8-16 November 1972: brief progress report on North Carelia project hypertension programme

• WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION OROANISA TION MONDIALE DE LA SANTt WHO MEETING ON COMMUNITY CONTROL OF STROKE AND HYPERTENSION Copenhagen/Geneva, 8-16 November 1972 cvo/s/12.12 ENGLISH ONLY INDEXE.0 BRIEF PROGRESS REPORT OF NORTH CARELIA PROJECT HYPERTENSION PROGRAMME by P. Puska Principal Investigator North Carelia Project Turku, Finland General The hypertension programme is part of a comprehensive community preventive trial - the North Carelia Project. A description of the whole project is to be sent to Dr Fejfar in the next few days. The hypertension programme follows the WHO Gothenburgh protocol. The baseline survey The baseline survey for the programme, which is at the same time the baseline survey for the whole project, has been finished. Of a ·random sample of 13 323 persons between 25 to 59 years, 87% were examined (totally in the intervention area and the reference area), The data are being transferred to punch cards for the computer analJsis. The intervention The intervention started on 1 May 1972 together with the intervention of the whole project. The health education programme and the education of medical personnel will deal with hypertension as one of the risk factors. The project will organize screening for case- finding in the local communities of North Carelia according to a protocol that has been developed by the project. Special items of the hypertension intervention: - A health education leaflet dealing with hypertension is in these days being printed. It will be given to all hypertensive patients in North Carelia and also ~sed by the personnel that is doing health education. A memorandum about "treatment of mild hypertension" for the general practitioners is being prepared, It will be sent to them in the next few weeks. - A weekend seminar about the hypertension programme is being planned. It will take place in September. The participants will be the general practitioners. In the seminar the first experiences about the hypertension programme will be discussed. The other topic will be unification of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures for hypertensive patients. The Issue of this document does not constitute formal publication. It should not be reviewed, . abstracted or quoted without the agreement of the World Health Organization. Authors alone are responsible for views expressed in signed articles. Ce document ne constitue pas une publication. II ne dolt faire l'objet d'aucun compte rendu ou resume ni d'aucune citation sans l'autorisation de !'Organisation Mondiale de la Sante. Les opinions exprimees dans les articles signes n'engagent que leura auteurs. cvn/s/12.12 page 2 - The hypertension register started on 1 May 1972. A copy of the initial record form follows. The first record forms will be sent to Geneva after our checking in 10 days. - For further visits of registered patients, the doctors are asked to fill in a short notification record, the copy of which follows •. When the initial record form has been filled the patient is given a patient's yellow control card, the copy of which follows. Further information Due to some financial difficulties. it is not clear whether it is possible to get any results of the baseline survey during this spring. If it is still possible, I shall be glad to report about it in the working group meeting in Geneva. In the meantime I am., of course, glad to answer any questions.