Impact of Bridging Income Generation with Group Integrated Care (BIGPIC) on Hypertension and Diabetes in Rural Western Kenya

Sonak D. Pastakia, Simon M. Manyara, Rajesh Vedanthan, Jemima H. Kamano, Diana Menya, Benjamin Andama, Cleophas Chesoli, Jeremiah Laktabai

Rural settings in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) consistently report low participation in non-communicable disease (NCD) treatment programs and poor outcomes. The objective of this study is to assess the impact of the implementation of a patient-centered rural NCD care delivery model called Bridging Income Generation through grouP Integrated Care (BIGPIC). The study prospectively tracked participation and health outcomes for participants in a screening event and compared linkage frequencies to a historical comparison group. Rural Kenyan participants attending a voluntary NCD screening event were included within the BIGPIC model of care. The BIGPIC model utilizes a contextualized care delivery model designed to address the unique barriers faced in rural settings. This model emphasizes the following steps: (1) find patients in the community, (2) link to peer/microfinance groups, (3) integrate education, (4) treat in the community, (5) enhance economic sustainability and (6) generate demand for care through incentives. The primary outcome is the linkage frequency, which measures the percentage of patients who return for care after screening positive for either hypertension and/or diabetes. Secondary measures include retention frequencies defined as the percentage of patients remaining engaged in care throughout the 9-month follow-up period and changes in systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and blood sugar over 12 months. Of the 879 individuals who were screened, 14.2 % were confirmed to have hypertension, while only 1.4 % were confirmed to have diabetes. The implementation of a comprehensive microfinance-linked, community-based, group care model resulted in 72.4 % of screen-positive participants returning for subsequent care, of which 70.3 % remained in care through the 12 months of the evaluation period. Patients remaining in care demonstrated a statistically significant mean decline of 21 mmHg in SBP [95 % CI (13.9 to 28.4), P < 0.01] and 5 mmHg drop in DBP [95 % CI (1.4 to 7.6), P < 0.01]. The implementation of a contextualized care delivery model built around the unique needs of rural SSA participants led to statistically significant improvements in linkage to care and blood pressure reduction.