Availability, functionality and access of blood pressure machines at the points of care in public primary care facilities in Tororo district, Uganda

BACKGROUND: Early diagnosis of hypertension prevents a significant number of complications and premature deaths. In resource-variable settings, diagnosis may be limited by inadequate access to blood pressure (BP) machines. We sought to understand the availability, functionality and access of BP mach...

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Autores principales: Besigye, Innocent K., Okuuny, Vicent, Armstrong-Hough, Mari, Katahoire, Anne R., Sewankambo, Nelson K., Mash, Robert, Katamba, Achilles
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: AOSIS 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8294161/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33567842
http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/safp.v63i1.5118
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author Besigye, Innocent K.
Okuuny, Vicent
Armstrong-Hough, Mari
Katahoire, Anne R.
Sewankambo, Nelson K.
Mash, Robert
Katamba, Achilles
author_facet Besigye, Innocent K.
Okuuny, Vicent
Armstrong-Hough, Mari
Katahoire, Anne R.
Sewankambo, Nelson K.
Mash, Robert
Katamba, Achilles
author_sort Besigye, Innocent K.
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Early diagnosis of hypertension prevents a significant number of complications and premature deaths. In resource-variable settings, diagnosis may be limited by inadequate access to blood pressure (BP) machines. We sought to understand the availability, functionality and access of BP machines at the points of care within primary care facilities in Tororo district, Uganda. METHODS: This was an explanatory sequential mixed-methods study combining a structured facility checklist and key informant interviews with primary care providers. The checklist was used to collect data on availability and functionality of BP machines within their organisational arrangements. Key informant interviews explored health providers’ access to BP machines. RESULTS: The majority of health facilities reported at least one working BP machine. However, Health providers described limited access to machines because they are not located at each point of care. Health providers reported borrowing amongst themselves within their respective units or from other units within the facility. Some health providers purchase and bring their own BP machines to the health facilities or attempted to restore the functionality of broken ones. They are motivated to search the clinic for BP machines for some patients but not others based on their perception of the patient’s risk for hypertension. CONCLUSION: Access to BP machines at the point of care was limited. This makes hypertension screening selective based on health providers’ perception of the patients’ risk for hypertension. Training in proper BP machine use and regular maintenance will minimise frequent breakdowns.
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spelling pubmed-82941612021-07-21 Availability, functionality and access of blood pressure machines at the points of care in public primary care facilities in Tororo district, Uganda Besigye, Innocent K. Okuuny, Vicent Armstrong-Hough, Mari Katahoire, Anne R. Sewankambo, Nelson K. Mash, Robert Katamba, Achilles S Afr Fam Pract (2004) Original Research BACKGROUND: Early diagnosis of hypertension prevents a significant number of complications and premature deaths. In resource-variable settings, diagnosis may be limited by inadequate access to blood pressure (BP) machines. We sought to understand the availability, functionality and access of BP machines at the points of care within primary care facilities in Tororo district, Uganda. METHODS: This was an explanatory sequential mixed-methods study combining a structured facility checklist and key informant interviews with primary care providers. The checklist was used to collect data on availability and functionality of BP machines within their organisational arrangements. Key informant interviews explored health providers’ access to BP machines. RESULTS: The majority of health facilities reported at least one working BP machine. However, Health providers described limited access to machines because they are not located at each point of care. Health providers reported borrowing amongst themselves within their respective units or from other units within the facility. Some health providers purchase and bring their own BP machines to the health facilities or attempted to restore the functionality of broken ones. They are motivated to search the clinic for BP machines for some patients but not others based on their perception of the patient’s risk for hypertension. CONCLUSION: Access to BP machines at the point of care was limited. This makes hypertension screening selective based on health providers’ perception of the patients’ risk for hypertension. Training in proper BP machine use and regular maintenance will minimise frequent breakdowns. AOSIS 2021-01-11 /pmc/articles/PMC8294161/ /pubmed/33567842 http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/safp.v63i1.5118 Text en © 2021. The Authors https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee: AOSIS. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.
spellingShingle Original Research
Besigye, Innocent K.
Okuuny, Vicent
Armstrong-Hough, Mari
Katahoire, Anne R.
Sewankambo, Nelson K.
Mash, Robert
Katamba, Achilles
Availability, functionality and access of blood pressure machines at the points of care in public primary care facilities in Tororo district, Uganda
title Availability, functionality and access of blood pressure machines at the points of care in public primary care facilities in Tororo district, Uganda
title_full Availability, functionality and access of blood pressure machines at the points of care in public primary care facilities in Tororo district, Uganda
title_fullStr Availability, functionality and access of blood pressure machines at the points of care in public primary care facilities in Tororo district, Uganda
title_full_unstemmed Availability, functionality and access of blood pressure machines at the points of care in public primary care facilities in Tororo district, Uganda
title_short Availability, functionality and access of blood pressure machines at the points of care in public primary care facilities in Tororo district, Uganda
title_sort availability, functionality and access of blood pressure machines at the points of care in public primary care facilities in tororo district, uganda
topic Original Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8294161/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33567842
http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/safp.v63i1.5118
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