The role of community health workers in the management of hypertension in Nigeria

• Published in: BMC family practice 2024-07, Vol.25 (1), p.266-10, Article 266
• Main Authors: Oseni, Tijani Idris Ahmad, Olawumi, Abdulgafar Lekan, Salam, Tawakalit Olubukola, Issa, Amudalat, Abiso, Mohammed Abubakar, Sanusi, Ibraheem, Ilori, Temitope
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Blood pressure; Care and treatment; Community health aides; Community health care; Community Health Workers; Cross-Sectional Studies; Evaluation; Female; Health facilities; Humans; Hypertension; Hypertension - diagnosis; Hypertension - epidemiology; Hypertension - therapy; Hypertension management; Hypertensive patients; Interviews; Male; Medical personnel; Middle Aged; Nigeria; Nigeria - epidemiology; Non-communicable diseases; Patient outcomes; Patient Satisfaction; Primary healthcare centre; Professional Role; Questionnaires; Sample size; Sampling techniques; Services; Software
• ISSN: 2731-4553; 2731-4553; 1471-2296
• DOI: 10.1186/s12875-024-02521-2

Hypertension is the number one risk factor for cardiovascular death worldwide and its prevalence has been on the increase in LMICs including Nigeria. There is an increasing awareness and recognition of the contributions of the community health workers (CHWs) in the healthcare system. This study assessed their current role in the management of hypertension and patient satisfaction with the care received. A mixed method study (cross-sectional study of 381 CHWs and key informant interview of 14 patients with hypertension selected using multi-stage and purposive sampling respectively) was conducted across five states in different geopolitical zones of Nigeria to assess the role of CHWs in hypertension management and the patients' level of satisfaction with services of CHWs. Chi-square test was used to assess relationship between categorical variables. A p-value ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Thematic analysis of the text data from the KII was done using Nvivo version 12 pro. A total of 381 CHWs completed the study. They were predominantly males (63%) with mean age of 40.96 ± 12.51 years. Only about one-third of the CHWs (31%) could correctly diagnose hypertension while only 15% knew the base-line investigations to be requested. Being female (FE = 9.205, p = 0.008) and resident in northwest geopolitical region (χ  = 20.920, p