Task shifting of cardiovascular disease risk assessment to Anganwadi Worker in Northern India

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) cause significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Task shifting in various forms has been adopted extensively around the world in an effort to increase access to CVD risk assessment for early identification of high-risk individuals. Present study explored the feasibility of task shifting of CVD risk assessment by anganwadi workers (AWWs). METHOD: An operational study was carried out with the objective to develop the knowledge and skill of AWWs in CVD risk assessment. The study was carried out in the anganwadi centres of Northern India. A total of 40 AWWs were enrolled by using purposive sampling technique. They were trained in CVD risk assessment till they fully developed the skill. These trained AWW carried out CVD risk assessment among subjects aged ≥40 years. Cohen Kappa was used to determine the reliability of risk assessment by AWWs. Communication skills of AWWs were measured by using a standardized communication checklist. RESULT: Result revealed high interrater reliability of risk scores generated by AWWs and researcher (k = 0.91). Majority of the AWWs (87%) demonstrated good communication skills. CONCLUSION: Study concludes that AWWs can be trained in CVD risk assessment using WHO/ISH risk prediction charts. With proper training and supervision, the task of the CVD risk assessment can be shifted to AWWs.