The American College of Cardiology (ACC) today released the latest NCD Academy course, Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health in NCDs, coinciding with World Health Day and the theme Health for All. The NCD Academy is a user-friendly, interactive online platform developed by the ACC in partnership with the NCD Alliance and the World Heart Federation and sponsored by Viatris. The programme is designed to equip primary healthcare professionals with educational resources and skills to enhance their ability to prevent and treat non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The NCD Academy’s overarching goal is aligned with the vision to make health for all a reality, by providing continued education for skilled health workers and supporting people-centered care.
Health equity, as described by the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health, is the absence of inequalities in healthcare that are avoidable by reasonable means. The new Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health in NCDs course aims to educate and increase awareness of health inequities and provide support on how to address them to achieve equitable care for all. Course topics led by leading experts in global health equity include an overview of social determinants of health; a closer look at the impact of structural discrimination; and strategies for tackling disparities in vulnerable communities, as well as low- and middle-income countries.
Launched in 2020, the NCD Academy features courses on nearly all aspects of NCDs, including cardiovascular disease and cancer. More recent courses also address mental health and advocacy and their respective roles in the NCD crisis, from which no country is immune. The new Health Equity course is being rolled out throughout the month of April, available at ACC.org/NCDAcademy.
“Health equity is a critical global health issue that must be addressed if we are to truly stem the tide of NCDs,” said Dipti Itchhaporia, former ACC President and a Past Chair of the College’s Health Equity Task Force. “Transforming cardiovascular care and improving heart health for all needs to start with solving for health equity. The ACC is proud to partner with Viatris, WHF and NCD Alliance to drive awareness and action around this important topic. Together we are delivering global education that inspires global action and, while there is still much work to be done, it is exciting to see how far we’ve come to date.”
For more information about the NCD Academy and to view available courses visit ACC.org/NCDAcademy.
About the NCD Academy
NCD Academy equips healthcare professionals, such as general practitioners, internists, nurses and community health workers, with high-quality continuing education available anytime, anywhere, and free of charge on fundamental skills to prevent, manage and mitigate today’s leading causes of death and disability. Courses address non-communicable diseases (NCDs) through an intersectional lens given shared risk factors and the tendency of NCDs to coexist with one another, as well as with infectious diseases. Courses include eLearning that emulates the experience of intensive face-to-face training through interactive knowledge application and practice in the form of patient cases and games such as trivia. The Academy has hosted 44 trainings, equipping more than 70,000 health care professionals across ten countries with the latest science, technology, resources and tools to manage and prevent NCDs. The program has reached physicians and patients across many countries including Argentina, China, Colombia, Egypt, India, Iraq, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Spain and the United States.
