The University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) is working on a project to provide evidence for preventative cardiovascular disease management using the web and mobile platforms. Their project is one of the winners of the call for proposals for the implementation of IS4H projects promoted by the Pan American Health Organization.
In Trinidad and Tobago, health data revealed that there was a significant number of deaths due to non-communicable diseases (primarily heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and cancer) suggesting that health expenditure needed to concentrate more on awareness and preventative measures for these diseases. The Non-Communicable Disease Morbidity and Mortality Rate was recorded at 1,940.8 per 100,000 population in 2010 which further increased to 2,343.8 in 2013.
With Trinidad and Tobago's commitment to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals were reviewed vis-à-vis Trinidad and Tobago's Vision 2030 national development goals, ensuring congruence and alignment between the two sets of goals.
This project contributes towards the vision T&T 2030 short term goals of 1. Empowering citizens to lead healthy lifestyles and 2. Contributing towards a healthcare system that will be sustainable and modern in delivering higher standards of healthcare.
A novel system for deriving personalized cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk assessments in Trinidad and Tobago was filed (Serial No. is 16/150,972) with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The system is a mechanism for managing open data that comes from different sources and that will be ethically used, through effective ICT tools, to generate strategic information for the benefit of public health. This system was developed specifically for the Trinidad and Tobago population which has increased this discrimination to 90% from 60% (international CVD risk calculators).
The project hopes to validate and confirm these findings. Once evaluated, a system will be recommended for implementation in hospitals and medical centers throughout Trinidad and Tobago via a web based application as well as an Android app, and will assist healthcare practitioners in mitigating against the deleterious effects of cardiovascular diseases in T&T's population. This system is expected to continuously collect anonymous data from persons which will assist us in refining the system. Future work will entail continuous refinement and yearly updates for the system.
