Temporal changes in self-reported noncommunicable disease prevention, surveillance, and management capacity among primary care nurses in Binga District, Zimbabwe: A pilot repeated-measures implementation evaluation

ABSTRACT Background and Aims: This pilot implementation study described temporal changes in self-reported noncommunicable disease (NCD) prevention, surveillance, and management capacity among primary care nurses in Binga District, Zimbabwe. Materials and Methods: A prospective repeated-measures implementation evaluation followed eight matched primary care nurses. Baseline data were collected from January 23 to January 24, 2026 after ethics committee approval, followed by midline and endline assessments. Program records listed 36 primary care nurses in the initial concept note and a final target of 40 nurses; exact invitation and refusal counts were unavailable. Study-specific domain scores and an equally weighted self-reported NCD capacity index were expressed on 0–100 scales. Friedman tests with Kendall’s W were exploratory and Holm-adjusted. Results: Five participants were female (62.5%), and the mean age was 40.6 years. The study-specific self-reported NCD capacity index changed from 81.9 at baseline to 89.6 at endline (+7.7). Facility and community readiness changed by +19.8 points, surveillance knowledge by +11.7, prevention knowledge by +8.3, essential medicine availability by +9.4, and nutrition counseling by +5.6; guideline availability changed by −30.0. No comparison remained statistically significant after Holm adjustment. Conclusion: The findings provide pilot descriptive evidence of changes in the perceived capacity and not intervention effectiveness. Possible selection bias, the small single-district panel, and exclusive reliance on self-report limit generalizability. Larger multicenter evaluations should include objective clinical, service-delivery, medicine-availability and patient-outcome measures.