Task force countries:  18
Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom

Started in 1996, the project is a pharmacy-based service that aims at optimal control of hypertension by actively involving pharmacists in the prevention, detection and management of hypertension.  The project protocol and guidelines outline ways in which pharmacists can provide a hypertension management service at three different levels of intervention.

The project is a joint venture by EuroPharm Forum and the WHO programme on Countrywide Integrated Noncommunicable Disease Intervention (CINDI).  The project takes a multidisciplinary approach in seeking to make health promotion and disease prevention more effective by encouraging cooperation between the many groups of health professionals involved.

In 2001 a pilot study to test the project model was initiated in six countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain) with WHO funds.  To prepare for this, a baseline assessment was made for the six countries, the results discussed at the annual project workshop in 2000, and an implementation strategy agreed.  In May 2001 a mid-term assessment of the pilot study was made.  This showed promising results despite the fact that no real study design has been made and no control group is being used.  Close to 200 pharmacies are involved in the pilot study. The national coordinators of the pilot study report that about 80% of the pharmacies submit data.  All pilot countries have set up national task forces, with various partners.  The protocol and guidelines document has been widely translated, adjusted to local conditions, and distributed.  Several training courses for pharmacists have been held.  The study is still in progress in some of the countries.  Evaluation has, however, been made by both the WHO CINDI Programme and EuroPharm Forum and their respective recommendations on how to follow-up on the joint project have been shared.

On the basis of the results of the pilot study the final version of the Pharmacy-Based Hypertension Management Model: Protocol and Guidelines, has been developed and is now available. At present the document exists in electronic format only.