A cross-sectional study on the ability of physicians to hypertension management in China's Sichuan Tibetan rural area.

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the hypertension management abilities of rural physicians in a high‐altitude Tibetan area. A cross‐sectional survey was conducted in the Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, China, in October 2020. Information about healthcare resources in local medical institutions, along with the knowledge, attitudes, practices, and training status of primary care physicians, was collected. Limited resources were observed in terms of equipment, drugs, and personnel in the 18 township hospitals included. A total of 132 physicians participated in this survey. The scores for hypertension‐related knowledge, attitudes toward hypertension management, routine practice ability, priority given to hypertension, and confidence in performing certain tasks were 32.60%, 67.40%, 18.90%, 65.15%, and 35.60%, respectively. The most concerning issues lay in the ignorance of the healthy lifestyle, undervaluation of cardiovascular risks, and lack of confidence in optimally performing management activities. Only 9.85% of the physicians received more than 24 days of training per year; 28.79% preferred a longer training time. While training was generally provided in conference sessions (63.64% of current training programs), physicians preferred remote education (55.30%), and on‐site guidance (46.21%) from professionals. The current training was centered around clinical skills (61.36%) and was identified as a major training requirement by the physicians surveyed (80.30%). This survey suggests that the medical resources may not be effective, with deficiencies present in the knowledge and practices of primary care physicians in the Sichuan Tibetan area. Hypertension education and skill‐development courses based on the specific issues identified should be provided to these physicians in the future.