Home-based care boosts hypertension control in rural KZN
New medical research is looking at ways of bringing blood pressure care into the homes of patients in rural KZN.
The Africa Health Research Institute recently conducted a study at two clinics in the Umkhanyakude District.
The clinical trial tested whether home-based care, which includes blood pressure self-monitoring and community health worker support, could improve blood pressure control.
774 patients took part in the nurse-led programme.
Professor Nombulelo Magula, the head of internal medicine at UKZN, says the results show significantly improved hypertension control rates.
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"We recruited patients at Madwaleni Clinic and Nkundusi Clinic. We saw amongst the patients that were in the standard of care arm, the response at 12 months was a control in their hypertension in 57%."
"Compared with up to 80% in the arms where the patients were getting visited in their homes, having a blood pressure to measure and monitor their own blood pressure."
She says they hope to roll out the programme to other parts of the country.
