Primary health care for hypertension by nurses in rural and urban sub-Saharan Africa

J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2009 Oct;11(10):564-72. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-7176.2009.00165.x.

Abstract

To implement a nurse-led protocol for the care of hypertension, 5 clinics were established in Yaounde (urban) and Bafut (rural) in Cameroon. International guidelines were adapted and 10 nurses were trained. The initial cohort of patients was referred from a field survey. The program proceeded for 26 months and 454 patients (45% urban) were registered in the clinics. Relative to urban participants, rural participants were more often women (59% vs 45%, P=.002) and less likely to have diabetes (7.2% vs 41.2%, P<.001). Between baseline and final visits, systolic and diastolic blood pressures dropped by 11.7 mm Hg (95% confidence interval, 8.9-14.4) and 7.8 (95% confidence interval, 5.9-9.6), respectively (P<.001). These changes were consistent in subgroups and after adjustment. Most dropouts occurred around the initial visit and among urban participants and nondiabetics. Nurse-led clinics are effective for improving hypertension care in these settings and require implementation and validation through controlled trials.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Africa South of the Sahara / epidemiology
  • Aged
  • Algorithms
  • Antihypertensive Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Blood Pressure / physiology
  • Diabetes Mellitus / physiopathology
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Guidelines as Topic
  • Humans
  • Hypertension / drug therapy*
  • Hypertension / epidemiology
  • Hypertension / physiopathology
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Nursing Care*
  • Primary Health Care*
  • Rural Population*
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Urban Population*

Substances

  • Antihypertensive Agents