Translating Ethics into Practice: Providing Long-Term Cardiometabolic and Cardiovascular Disease Care for Research Participants in Africa

In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), health systems face significant challenges responding to the growing burden of cardiometabolic and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) [1,2], and most adults in SSA lack access to primary care [3].Consequently, many research participants will be diagnosed with untreated cardiometabolic and cardiovascular disease during internationally funded research. In 2019, we argued that there is an ethical imperative for researchers in SSA and other low-income settings to facilitate the 'highest achievable standard of care' for all untreated non-communicable diseases identified during research [4].However, no standards exist for researchers to implement this ethical imperative and facilitate long-term access to treatment.