WHO meeting on community control of stroke and hypertension: Copenhagen, Geneva, 8-16 November 1972: progress report: hypertension programme in Verona, Italy

• WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION ORGANISATION MONDIALE DE LA SAN'ra WHO MEETING ON COMMUNITY CONTROL ON STROKE AND HYPERTENSION Copenhagen/Geneva, 8-16 November 1972 PROGRESS REPORT: HYPERTENSION PROGRAMME IN VERONA, ITALY by C. Dal Palu II Clinica Medica Generale Dell'Universita di Padova Verona, Italy The pilot programme for the control of hypertension in communities has started in Verona (University of Padua) on September lst 1972. Two matched populations of some small towns near Pad.2_ va have been chosen for the screening. The choice of the two populations was determinated by the fact that both are affluents to a "zonal" hospital. Both hospitals accepted the institution of an hypertension clinic and cooperating doctors could be found. The distance between the two hospitals (and populations) is approximately 30 km so that no contamination is to be e.!_ pected. Moreover, the towns have a different administrative background, one depending from the "province" d Padova, the other of Venezia. The size, sociocultural and socioeconomical characteri sties of the two populations are very similar: both are in the Venetian country, with some small industries. The size of the communities is of 50-55.000, living in small towns of 8-12.000 inhabitants. Of them, 5.600 subjects, 20-64 years old, will be screened. At present, the study has started with the screening of the "project" community. The work with the "reference" commu nity is supposed to start in 2-3 months. cvo/s/12.14 ENGLISH ONLY INOE.XED The issue of this document does not constitute formal publicatlon. 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 doit faire l'objet d'aucun compte rendu ou resume ni d'aucune citation sans l'autorisation de l'Organisation Mondiale de la Sante. Les opinions exprimees dans les articles signes n'engagent que leurs auteurs. cvn/s/12.14 page 2 The delay in starting with the whole programme was due to difficulties in obtaining the lists of inhabitants from the administrative offices before the summ.er holidays: poli tical elections of last May interferred negatively from tnis point of view. The personnel involved 1n the screening and in the dia gnostic work-up is composed by: (a) the Chief of the Service of Internal Medicine of both Hospitals. His cooperation is of primary importance in our project, for contacts with practitioners, ad.ministra tive people and inhabitants; (b) two doctors of the staff working at the Programme Center (Verona); (c) one doctor working in the Hospital; (d) one student (interne at the Department of internal medici ne in Verona); (e) one clerk; (f) one nurse. Patients eligible for the programme will be examined at the Hospital: some biochemical tests, if necessary, will be done by the biochemical laboratory of the University, in Ve rona. Case finding screening will be done by the following ways: (a) General practitioners working in the programme community have been contacted directly (telephone) for information. A letter, in which the aims of the project are explained, has been sent to each of them; (b) a clerk is searching for in-patients records of the Hospi tal during the last 5 years, for identification of byper- tensives; (c) the whole population will be invited to come spontaneously at the bypertension clinic for having their blood pressure measured. The per~entage of the randomized subjects whoiave been responsed to our invitation to come at the bypertension cli nic has been low (50-60%) in the first day: it is our impre~ sion that the percentage is now increasing. A meeting with the general practitioners of the zone is foreseen for the second week of October.