Worldwide Efforts to Improve Heart Health: A Follow-up to the Catalonia Declaration - Selected Program Descriptions,

Abstract : In 1995 the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) initiated Conjunto de Acciones para Ia Redudon Multifactorial de las En fermeda des No Transmisibles (CARMEN) as a practical tool for helping member nations meet the World Health Organization's challenge of Health for All by the Year 2000. The project's main objective is to create national and local coalitions that can set policies and implement interventions designed to reduce risk factors for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). CARMEN projects focus on risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure, overweight, diabetes, and excessive alcohol consumption; the specific risk factors addressed depend on the priorities of each participating nation. CARMEN takes an integrated approach that combines preventive health care services for individuals at high risk for NCDs with health promotion efforts directed at the general population. CARMEN projects reach their target audience through community, workplace, and school settings as well as through local health services.