Evaluating the Effectiveness of African School of Hypertension for Non-Physician Health Workers, a Qualitative Study: QuASH Hypertension Study.

Background: The implementation of task sharing and shifting (TSTS) policy as a way of addressing the shortage of physicians and reducing the burden of hypertension in Africa birthed the idea of the African School of Hypertension (ASH). The ASH is saddled with the responsibility of training non-physician health workers across Africa continent in the management of uncomplicated hypertension. Aim: To get feedback from some faculty members and students who participated in the first ASH programme. Methods: This was a cross-sectional exploratory qualitative study conducted among eight students and eight faculty members. Feedback from the program was obtained by conducting in-depth interviews centred on description of course content; expectations and knowledge acquired from ASH; level of interaction between students and faculty members; challenges faced during the ASH; level of implementation of acquired training; and suggestions to improve subsequent ASH programs. Results: The course content of the ASH was described as simple, appropriate and adequate while interaction between students and faculty members were highly cordial and engaging. New knowledge about hypertension management was acquired by the students with different levels of implementation post-graduation. Some identified challenges with the ASH program were poor internet connectivity during lectures, non-uniformity of TSTS policies and hypertension management guidelines across Africa, technical problems with hypertension management app and low participation from other African countries apart from Nigeria. Some recommendations to improve ASH program were development of a uniform hypertension management guideline for Africans, wider publicity of the ASH, interpretation of lectures into French and Portuguese languages and improvement of internet connectivity. Conclusion: The ASH programme has largely achieved its objectives with the very encouraging feedback received from both faculty members and the students. Steps should be taken to address the identified challenges and implement the suggested recommendations in subsequent ASH program to sustain this success.

May Measurement Month 2021: an analysis of blood pressure screening results from Malawi.

May Measurement Month (MMM) is a global initiative aiming at raising awareness and screening people for blood pressure (BP) for free. Malawi started participating in 2017 due to our membership with the International Society of Hypertension, and this was done mainly to raise awareness of high BP, which could be of benefit to the population. An opportunistic cross-sectional survey of participants aged 18 years and above was carried out from May to September 2021 in Blantyre and Lilongwe. All BP measurements, definition of hypertension, and statistical analysis followed the standard MMM protocol. A total of 7074 participants took part with 4348 (61.5%) being male and 2726 (38.5%) female. A total of 1525 (21.6%) participants were found to have hypertension. Of these, 84 (5.5%) were aware that they had the condition, and 81 (5.3%) of those with hypertension were on antihypertensive treatment. Of those on antihypertensive treatment, 61 (76.5%) had controlled BP. The screenings were done in just two districts and a few locations, which therefore are not representative of the whole country. This shows there is a significant need to expand screening opportunities within Malawi for early detection of hypertension to have a greater impact on the country as far as the fight against hypertension is concerned.

May Measurement Month 2019: an analysis of blood pressure screening results from Malawi.

May Measurement Month (MMM) is a global initiative that aims at raising awareness and screening people for high blood pressure (BP). Malawi has participated in MMM since 2017. A 2017 STEPwise Survey conducted in Malawi among 4187 participants found that 65.2% had never had their BP measured before, 26.8% had their BPs measured but not diagnosed, 3.9% were diagnosed but not within the last 12 months, and 4.1% were diagnosed within the last 12 months. An opportunistic cross-sectional survey of volunteers aged 18 and above was carried out in May and June 2019. All BP measurements, definition of hypertension and statistical analysis followed the standard MMM protocol. The screening took place in Nkhatabay, Lilongwe, and Blantyre. A total number of 9723 participants were screened with a mean age of 42.0 (SD 16.6) years. Of these 8444 (86.8%) had never had their BP measured within the last 12 months, 2559 (26.3%) had raised BP, 2169 (23.2%) of those with raised BP were not on treatment whereas 390 (4.0%) were on treatment. The results showed that many of the participants had not had their BP checked in the past year. There is a significant need to expand BP screening opportunities within Malawi for early detection of hypertension.