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Time to review policy on screening for, and managing, hypertension in South Africa : evidence from primary care

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Thorogood, Margaret, Goudge, Jane, Kabudula, Chodziwadziwa Whiteson, Limbani, Felix, Roseleur, Jacqueline and Gómez-Olivé, Francesc Xavier (2019) Time to review policy on screening for, and managing, hypertension in South Africa : evidence from primary care. PLoS One, 14 (1). e0208983. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0208983 ISSN 1932-6203.

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0208983

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Abstract

Background

Current policy in South Africa requires measurement of blood pressure at every visit in primary care. The number of patients regularly visiting primary care clinics for routine care is increasing rapidly, causing long queues, and unmanageable workloads.

Methods

We used data collected during a randomised control trial in primary care clinics in South Africa to estimate how changes in policy might affect workloads and improve identification of undiagnosed hypertension.

Results

The prevalence of raised blood pressure increased with age; 65% of individuals aged over 60 years had a raised blood pressure, and 49% of them were not on any treatment. Over three months, eight health facilities saw 8,947 individual chronic disease patients, receiving 22,323 visits from them. Of these visits, 60% were related to hypertension, with or without HIV, and a further 35% were related to HIV alone. Long waits for blood pressure checks caused friction at all levels of the clinics. Blood pressure machines frequently broke down due to heavy use, and high blood pressures readings were often ignored. If chronic disease patients without a diagnosis of hypertension had their blood pressure checked only once a year, the number of checks would be reduced by more than 80%. Individuals with hypertension had a blood pressure check on average once every 7 weeks, but South African guidelines recommend that this should be done every 3 months at most.

Conclusions

The numbers of chronic disease patients in primary care clinics in South Africa is rising rapidly. New policies for measuring blood pressure in these patients attending clinics are urgently needed.

Item Type: Journal Article
Subjects: R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine
Divisions: Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School > Health Sciences
Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School > Health Sciences > Statistics and Epidemiology
Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Primary care (Medicine) -- South Africa, Hypertension -- Economic aspects -- South Africa, Blood pressure -- Measurement -- Economic aspects -- South Africa
Journal or Publication Title: PLoS One
Publisher: Public Library of Science
ISSN: 1932-6203
Official Date: 2019
Dates:
DateEvent
2019Published
10 January 2019Available
28 November 2018Accepted
Volume: 14
Number: 1
Article Number: e0208983
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0208983
Status: Peer Reviewed
Publication Status: Published
Access rights to Published version: Open Access (Creative Commons)
Date of first compliant deposit: 21 January 2019
Date of first compliant Open Access: 22 January 2019
RIOXX Funder/Project Grant:
Project/Grant IDRIOXX Funder NameFunder ID
MR/JO16020/1[MRC] Medical Research Councilhttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000265
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