Abstract
ObjectiveThe main objective of the study was to elicit beliefs about hypertension among Nigerian Primary Health Care clients and workers.BackgroundIn many regions of Nigeria, the primary health care facility is usually the only source of formal health care available. Since hypertension is a chronic condition that requires lifelong life style modification and drug treatment, it is important to understand the context and background to the condition through the beliefs and perceptions among both lay persons and health care providers who manage the condition.SettingRural and urban primary health care facilities in the Federal Capital Territory Nigeria.ParticipantsA total of Eighty-one (81) primary health care clients and workers participated in the study.Methods and outcome measureA qualitative research using interviews, focus group discussions and reflective work as sources of data collection. The outcome measures were emerging themes from thematic framework analysis.ResultsThere were four themes that summarize beliefs of both PHC workers and clients namely: (1) Meaning of hypertension (2) causes of hypertension, (3) Consequences of hypertension (4) Perceptions of treatment, one additional distinct theme was elicited among PHC workers “contextual explanation”. However, under each of the shared four themes, there were both similarities and differences in beliefs expressed between PHC workers and clients.ConclusionsThis study highlights important similarities and differences in beliefs about hypertension among primary health care clients and primary health care workers that have significant implications for management of hypertension in primary care settings in Nigeria.
Highlights
Hypertension is a global public health problem [1]
There were four themes that summarize beliefs of both primary health care (PHC) workers and clients namely: (1) Meaning of hypertension (2) causes of hypertension, (3) Consequences of hypertension (4) Perceptions of treatment, one additional distinct theme was elicited among PHC workers
One individual in-depth interview was lost due to a corrupted audio file bringing the final sample of PHC clients to 40 participants (30 individual interviews and 10 focus group discussion participants)
Summary
Hypertension is a global public health problem [1]. Currently, it affects about a billion people worldwide[2], but is projected to affect 1.56 billion people and result in 7 million deaths annually by 2025[3].According to a recent WHO report, it is estimated that the African continent has the highest prevalence rate of hypertension, 46%, among adults aged 25 years and above compared to the Americas, East Mediterranean, Europe, South East Asia and Western Pacific with 35%, 41%, 41%, 37% and 38% respectively [2, 3].Nigeria with a population of about 180 million bears a substantial amount of this burden [3, 4]. Hypertension is a global public health problem [1]. It affects about a billion people worldwide[2], but is projected to affect 1.56 billion people and result in 7 million deaths annually by 2025[3]. A recent study estimated the crude prevalence of hypertension in Nigeria to be between 2.1% to 47.2% depending on the blood pressure cut-off point, setting, sex and ethnic group being assessed [5]. In many regions of Nigeria, the government owned primary health care (PHC) facility is usually the only source of formal health care available. In many regions of Nigeria, the primary health care facility is usually the only source of formal health care available. Rural and urban primary health care facilities in the Federal Capital Territory Nigeria
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