Norman Levitt

Biographic Data

ID	1117544
NAME	Norman Levitt
GIVEN NAMES	Norman
FAMILY NAME	Levitt
SIGNATURE	LEVITT N
AFFILIATIONS	University of Cape Town
ORCID	0000-0001-6480-8066
VERIFIED	Yes
TOTAL WORKS	63
TOTAL CITATIONS	15
AUTHOR COUNT	63
EDITOR COUNT	0
FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR	1994
LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR	2026
H-INDEX	2

How is goal setting used in interventions for chronic disease prevention and management in sub-Saharan Africa? A systematic review and narrative synthesis
Open AccessCathryn Pinto, Matthew Burgess et al.ARTICLEGlobal Health Action2026
Non-communicable diseases are increasingly prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, and goal setting is often used to promote healthy self-management behaviours. In this review, we aimed to synthesise literature around how goal setting is used, for application in future interventions in the region. A systematic search was conducted in six databases and results screened for eligibility. Study characteristics, intervention details, goal setting components,…
“You always have a high sugar if you don’t communicate”: A qualitative secondary analysis of ‘Diabetes Together’ process evaluation data from couples in South Africa
Open AccessLucy Lynch, Myrna Van Pinxteren et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2025
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2D) can negatively impact relationships which may affect health and disease management. This can be moderated by positive communication between partners. Our aims were first, to identify ways in which couples’ communication and T2D impact each other. Second, we aimed to explore how improving couples’ communication may enhance self-management for people living with T2D (PLWD) and their partners in South Africa. We conduc…
Feasibility and impact of a patient support group care model on diabetes and hypertension care in informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya: A quasi-experimental study
Open AccessRichard E Sanya, Caroline H Karugu et al.ARTICLEGlobal Health Action2025
Background A support group care model including self-financing is a promising strategy to improve care for patients with diabetes or hypertension in resource-constrained settings.Objectives We investigated the uptake, feasibility, and impact of a self-financing patient support group care model on cardiometabolic parameters among adult patients with uncontrolled diabetes or hypertension in informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya.Methods A two-group…
High rates of voluntary clinic attendance among community members screened with high cardiovascular disease risk scores in the rural and urban communities of Adama, Ethiopia
Open AccessKiya Kedir, Kufre Okop et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2025
We observed high rates of voluntary clinic attendance among community members screened with moderate to high CVD risk scores in both rural and urban communities of Ethiopia. These findings imply that this novel approach may be useful for scaling up CVD risk screening in regions of Ethiopia
Prevalence and associations of hypertension detection, treatment and control in Cape Town
Open AccessNasheeta Peer, Norman Levitt et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2025
Participants who were female and with comorbid diabetes were more likely to have better hypertension care overall, while the poorest and less urbanised participants were less likely to have their hypertension detected. Strategies are required to ensure equitable distribution of hypertension care. In-depth research is required to understand the contributors to suboptimal hypertension care, which likely differ by age, gender, socioeconomic status a…
A model-based approach to estimating the prevalence of disease combinations in South Africa
Open AccessLeigh F Johnson, Reshma Kassanjee et al.ARTICLEBMJ Global Health2024
BACKGROUND: The development of strategies to better detect and manage patients with multiple long-term conditions requires estimates of the most prevalent condition combinations. However, standard meta-analysis tools are not well suited to synthesising heterogeneous multimorbidity data. METHODS: We developed a statistical model to synthesise data on associations between diseases and nationally representative prevalence estimates and applied the m…
Core outcome sets for trials of interventions to prevent and to treat multimorbidity in adults in low and middle-income countries: The Cosmos study
Open AccessAishwarya Lakshmi Vidyasagaran, Rubab Ayesha et al.ARTICLEBMJ Global Health2024
INTRODUCTION: The burden of multimorbidity is recognised increasingly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), creating a strong emphasis on the need for effective evidence-based interventions. Core outcome sets (COS) appropriate for the study of multimorbidity in LMICs do not presently exist. These are required to standardise reporting and contribute to a consistent and cohesive evidence-base to inform policy and practice. We describe the de…
Clinically sound and person centred: Streamlining clinical decision support guidance for multiple long-term condition care
Open AccessRuth Cornick, Inge Petersen et al.ARTICLEBMJ Global Health2024
The care of people with multiple long-term conditions (MLTCs) is complex and time-consuming, often denying them the agency to self-manage their conditions—or for the clinician they visit to provide streamlined, person-centred care. We reconfigured The Practical Approach to Care Kit, our established, evidence-based, policy-aligned clinical decision support tool for low-resource primary care settings, to provide consolidated clinical guidance for a…
Exploring the workload of informal caregiving in the context of HIV/NCD multimorbidity in South Africa
Open AccessMyrna Van Pinxteren, Charlotte Slome et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2024
The importance of informal caregiving for chronic illness has been well established in African contexts but is underexplored in the context of HIV/NCD multimorbidity, particularly in South Africa. Building on treatment burden theories that investigate workload in the context of chronic illness, this paper explores how informal caregiving networks impact the capacity of people living with multimorbidity (PLWMM) in low-income settings in urban and …
Interdisciplinary perspectives on multimorbidity in Africa: Developing an expanded conceptual model
Open AccessJustin Dixon, Ben Morton et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2024
Multimorbidity is an emerging challenge for health systems globally. It is commonly defined as the co-occurrence of two or more chronic conditions in one person, but its meaning remains a lively area of academic debate, and the utility of the concept beyond high-income settings is uncertain. This article presents the findings from an interdisciplinary research initiative that drew together 60 academic and applied partners working in 10 African co…
Comparing the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of alternative type 2 diabetes monitoring intervals in resource limited settings
Open AccessElton Mukonda, Maia Lesosky et al.ARTICLEHealth Policy and Planning2024
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) represents a growing disease burden in South Africa. While glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) testing is the gold standard for long-term blood glucose management, recommendations for HbA1c monitoring frequency are based on expert opinion. This study investigates the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of alternative HbA1c monitoring intervals in the management of T2D. A Markov model with three health states (HbA1c <7%, HbA1c ≥ 7%…
Shifting roles of community health workers in the prevention and management of noncommunicable disease during the Covid-19 pandemic: A scoping review
Open AccessTilahun Haregu, Peter Delobelle et al.ARTICLEHealth Policy and Planning2024
Community Health Workers (CHWs) play a crucial role in the prevention and management of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). The COVID-19 pandemic triggered the implementation of crisis-driven responses that involved shifts in the roles of CHWs in terms of delivering services for people with NCDs. Strategically aligning these shifts with health systems is crucial to improve NCD service delivery. The aim of this review was to identify and describe COV…
We are in control of this thing, and we know what to do now’: Pilot and process evaluation of ‘Diabetes Together’, a couples-focused intervention to support self-management of Type 2 Diabetes in South…
Open AccessLucy Lynch, Myrna Van Pinxteren et al.ARTICLEGlobal Public Health2024
We piloted the delivery of a prototype couples-focused intervention, 'Diabetes Together' with 14 people living with diabetes (PLWD) and their partners, in Cape Town, South Africa in 2022. We aimed to: assess feasibility of recruiting couples in this setting; explore acceptability of intervention materials and changes needed; and investigate whether our prespecified logic model captured how the intervention may work. We used questionnaires, interv…
Social determinants of health and diabetes self-care management in South Africa
Open AccessAssegid G Hellebo, Assegid Hellebo et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2024
The associations between SDoH and diabetes self-care management within a South African context highlight the need for a more holistic understanding and approach to interventions. Future endeavours should examine these determinants more broadly and formulate integrative strategies to ameliorate diabetes self-care
Cost-effectiveness of Lifestyle Africa: An adaptation of the diabetes prevention programme for delivery by community health workers in urban South Africa
Open AccessMelanie D Whittington, Kathy Goggin et al.ARTICLEGlobal Health Action2023
Background Lifestyle Africa is an adapted version of the Diabetes Prevention Program designed for delivery by community health workers to socioeconomically disadvantaged populations in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Results from the Lifestyle Africa trial conducted in an under-resourced community in South Africa indicated that the programme had a significant effect on reducing haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c).Objective To estimate the cost of i…
Multi-country collaborative citizen science projects to co-design cardiovascular disease prevention strategies and advocacy: Findings from Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda, and South Africa
Open AccessKufre Okop, Kufre J Okop et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2023
The collaborative engagement, participatory learning, and co-designing activities enhanced active engagement between citizen scientists, researchers, and stakeholders. This, in turn, provided context-specific insights on CVD prevention in the different SSA settings
Using the COM-B model and Behaviour Change Wheel to develop a theory and evidence-based intervention for women with gestational diabetes (Iindiago)
Open AccessKatherine Murphy, J Edward Berk et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2023
First registered on 20/04/2018, Pan African Clinical Trials Registry (PACTR): PACTR201805003336174
Perceptions of Health, Body Size, and Nutritional Risk Factors for Obesity in People with HIV in South Africa
Open AccessJennifer Manne-Goehler, Nicholas Rahim et al.ARTICLEAIDS and Behavior2023
Ubuntu as a mediator in coping with multimorbidity treatment burden in a disadvantaged rural and urban setting in South Africa
Open AccessNonzuzo Mbokazi, Myrna Van Pinxteren et al.ARTICLESocial Science & Medicine2023References: 42
Integrated Management of Type 2 Diabetes and Gestational Diabetes in the Context of Multi-Morbidity in Africa: A Systematic Review
Open AccessJean Claude Mutabazi, Mahmoud Werfalli et al.ARTICLEInternational Journal of…2022
Implementing and Evaluating Community Health Worker-Led Cardiovascular Disease Risk Screening Intervention in Sub-Saharan Africa Communities: A Participatory Implementation Research Protocol
Open AccessKufre Okop, Peter Delobelle et al.ARTICLEInternational Journal of…2022
The increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), particularly cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) poses a considerable threat to public health. Community-driven CVD risk screening, referral and follow-up of those at high CVDs risk is essential to supporting early identification, treatment and secondary prevention of cardiovascular events such as stroke and myocardial infarction. This protocol descri…
Perceived cardiovascular disease risk and tailored communication strategies among rural and urban community dwellers in Rwanda: A qualitative study
Open AccessJean Berchmans Niyibizi, Kufre Okop et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2022
Rural and urban community members in Rwanda are aware of what could potentially put them at CVD risk in their respective local communities. Community health workers are preferred by local communities for CVD risk screening. Quantitative formats to present the total CVD risk appear inappropriate to the Rwandan population and qualitative formats are therefore advisable. Thus, operational research on the use of qualitative formats to communicate CVD…
Changes in prevalence and the cascade of care for type 2 diabetes over ten years (2005-2015): Results of two nationally representative surveys in Mozambique
Open AccessTavares Madede, Albertino Damasceno et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2022
While the prevalence of diabetes in Mozambique has increased from 2005 to 2015, awareness and medication use have declined considerably. There is an urgent need to improve the capacity of primary health care and communities to detect, manage and prevent the occurrence of NCDs and their risk factors
Cognitive and Motor Development in 3- to 6-Year-Old Children Born to Mothers with Hyperglycaemia First Detected in Pregnancy in an Urban African Population
Open AccessLarske M Soepnel, Veronique Nicolaou et al.ARTICLEMaternal and Child Health Journal2022
Integrating Gestational Diabetes Screening and Care and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Prevention After GDM Into Community Based Primary Health Care in South Africa-Mixed Method Study
Open AccessJean Claude Mutabazi, Pascal Roland Enok Bonong et al.ARTICLEInternational Journal of…2022References: 3
GDM screening and post-GDM prevention of T2DM are poorly integrated into PHC services in South Africa. Integration is desired by stakeholders (patients and providers) and may be feasible if PHC resource, training constraints and women's socio-economic barriers are addressed