Availability, functionality and access of blood pressure machines at the points of care in public primary care facilities in Tororo district, Uganda
| Autor: | Robert Mash, Vicent Okuuny, Innocent Besigye, Anne Katahoire, Mari Armstrong-Hough, Achilles Katamba, Nelson K. Sewankambo |
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| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
hypertension
Point-of-Care Systems lcsh:Medicine Blood Pressure Primary care Ambulatory Care Facilities Article blood pressure machine Limited access primary care primary healthcare 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine health facilities Humans Medicine Uganda 030212 general & internal medicine Point of care Primary Health Care business.industry 030503 health policy & services lcsh:R Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health medicine.disease Checklist Premature death Blood pressure Key informants Medical emergency 0305 other medical science Family Practice business Healthcare providers |
| Zdroj: | South African family practice : official journal of the South African Academy of Family Practice/Primary Care South African Family Practice, Vol 63, Iss 1, Pp e1-e6 (2021) South African Family Practice; Vol. 63 No. 1 (2021) |
| ISSN: | 2078-6204 2078-6190 |
| DOI: | 10.4102/safp.v63i1.5118 |
| Popis: | 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. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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