scholarly journals Correction: Evaluating the Feasibility and Acceptability of a Mobile Health–Based Female Community Health Volunteer Program for Hypertension Control in Rural Nepal: Cross-Sectional Study

10.2196/19048 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. e19048
Author(s):  
Zhao Ni ◽  
Namratha Atluri ◽  
Ryan J Shaw ◽  
Jingru Tan ◽  
Kinza Khan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Health ◽  
Mobile Health ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Hypertension Control ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Volunteer Program ◽  
Female Community ◽  
Community Health Volunteer ◽  
Rural Nepal

scholarly journals Evaluating the Feasibility and Acceptability of a Mobile Health–Based Female Community Health Volunteer Program for Hypertension Control in Rural Nepal: Cross-Sectional Study

10.2196/15419 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. e15419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhao Ni ◽  
Namratha Atluri ◽  
Ryan J Shaw ◽  
Jingru Tan ◽  
Kinza Khan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Volunteer Program ◽  
Health Volunteer ◽  
Community Health Volunteers ◽  
Female Community ◽  
Community Health Volunteer ◽  
Female Community Health Volunteers ◽  
Rural Nepal

Background Hypertension is a major modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the world’s leading cause of death. The prevalence of hypertension is disproportionately higher in South Asian countries than in other regions of the world. Screening for hypertension in primary care settings remains a challenge in many South Asian countries, including Nepal. Nepal is located in the Himalayan Mountains region, posing significant geographical challenges for its rural citizens to access primary health care and service delivery. This barrier increases the costs and inconvenience for rural Nepalis to access hypertension screening and treatment. As a result, the prevalence of hypertension in Nepal tripled in the last 25 years to 22.4%-38.6%. Nepal’s Ministry of Health and Population relies on female community health volunteers to link health centers and communities to provide basic health services. Over 50,000 of these volunteers in Nepal have received basic health care training and are assigned to take care of maternal and child health. Due to limited health care resources, adopting new methods to control hypertension is an urgent need in Nepal. Several recent studies in Nepal have recommended extending the role of female community health volunteers to include hypertension management through blood pressure monitoring and home-based education. Objective The goal of this study was to assess if a mobile health–based female community health volunteer approach of combining the traditional community health volunteer program with digital technologies would be feasible and acceptable in rural Nepal. Methods In this study, we recruited 17 female community health volunteers and extended their role from maternal and child health to hypertension management through screening blood pressures. Results All 17 female community health volunteers successfully measured 1113 rural Nepalis’ blood pressures, identified 169 hypertensive patients, and collected health behaviors data of the 169 hypertensive patients. Among the 169 patients, 70% of them had a mobile phone, and 92% were interested in receiving health-related information via a mobile phone. Among those who were interested in receiving information via a mobile phone, 84% preferred voice calls, and 7% and 1% preferred texting and apps, respectively. Conclusions Results from this study indicate that a digital health intervention that leverages feature-phones combined with female community health volunteers may be an acceptable and pragmatic way to implement an evidence-based program to reduce hypertension in rural Nepal.

scholarly journals Evaluating the Feasibility and Acceptability of a Mobile Health–Based Female Community Health Volunteer Program for Hypertension Control in Rural Nepal: Cross-Sectional Study (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhao Ni ◽  
Namratha Atluri ◽  
Ryan J Shaw ◽  
Jingru Tan ◽  
Kinza Khan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Volunteer Program ◽  
Health Volunteer ◽  
Community Health Volunteers ◽  
Female Community ◽  
Community Health Volunteer ◽  
Female Community Health Volunteers ◽  
Rural Nepal

BACKGROUND Hypertension is a major modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the world’s leading cause of death. The prevalence of hypertension is disproportionately higher in South Asian countries than in other regions of the world. Screening for hypertension in primary care settings remains a challenge in many South Asian countries, including Nepal. Nepal is located in the Himalayan Mountains region, posing significant geographical challenges for its rural citizens to access primary health care and service delivery. This barrier increases the costs and inconvenience for rural Nepalis to access hypertension screening and treatment. As a result, the prevalence of hypertension in Nepal tripled in the last 25 years to 22.4%-38.6%. Nepal’s Ministry of Health and Population relies on female community health volunteers to link health centers and communities to provide basic health services. Over 50,000 of these volunteers in Nepal have received basic health care training and are assigned to take care of maternal and child health. Due to limited health care resources, adopting new methods to control hypertension is an urgent need in Nepal. Several recent studies in Nepal have recommended extending the role of female community health volunteers to include hypertension management through blood pressure monitoring and home-based education. OBJECTIVE The goal of this study was to assess if a mobile health–based female community health volunteer approach of combining the traditional community health volunteer program with digital technologies would be feasible and acceptable in rural Nepa METHODS In this study, we recruited 17 female community health volunteers and extended their role from maternal and child health to hypertension management through screening blood pressures. RESULTS All 17 female community health volunteers successfully measured 1113 rural Nepalis’ blood pressures, identified 169 hypertensive patients, and collected health behaviors data of the 169 hypertensive patients. Among the 169 patients, 70% of them had a mobile phone, and 92% were interested in receiving health-related information via a mobile phone. Among those who were interested in receiving information via a mobile phone, 84% preferred voice calls, and 7% and 1% preferred texting and apps, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Results from this study indicate that a digital health intervention that leverages feature-phones combined with female community health volunteers may be an acceptable and pragmatic way to implement an evidence-based program to reduce hypertension in rural Nepal.

scholarly journals Prevalence and correlates of Multimorbidity among older adults in rural Nepal: a cross sectional study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uday Narayan Yadav ◽  
Saruna Ghimire ◽  
Sabuj Kanti Mistry ◽  
Selvanaayagam Shanmuganathan ◽  
Lal Bahadur Rawal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Health Care Expenditure ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Rural Setting ◽  
Chronic Obstructive ◽  
Cluster Sampling ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Validated Questionnaire ◽  
Rural Nepal

Abstract Background Multimorbidity among older adults is an increasing challenge for health systems. Compared to a single disease condition, multimorbidity lowers the quality of life and experience higher hospital admission and health care expenditure. Although multimorbidity has gained global attention, it remains a less studied area in Nepal. Our study aimed to estimate the prevalence of major chronic diseases and multimorbidity among older adults in rural Nepal and examine the associated socioeconomic and behavioral risk factors.Methods We analyzed data of 794 Nepalese older adults recruited using a multi-stage cluster sampling approach in two rural setting of Sunsari and Morang District of Nepal. This was a cross-sectional study, conducted between January to April 2018. Socio-demographics and health conditions data [ Osteoarthritis, Cardiovascular diseases (CVD), Diabetes, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases (COPD) ] were collected through the help of trained research assistants using a validated questionnaire. The correlates of multimorbidity were examined using mixed-effects logistic regression.Results 48.9% of the participants had at least one chronic condition, and 14% were multimorbid. The prevalence of individual conditions were osteoarthritis- 41.7%, CVD- 2.39%, diabetes- 5.29%, and COPD- 15.7%. In the adjusted model, older adults aged 70-79 years, those from underprivileged Madhesi and other ethnic groups, without a history of alcohol drinking, and those physically inactive, were significantly associated with multimorbidity.Conclusion Our study found a sizeable proportion of the older adults had multimorbidity in our studied population. This prevalence of multimorbidity and its socioeconomic and behavioural correlates, need to be addressed through multi-level preventive strategies, including clinical guidelines and the development of a multidisciplinary workforce to address the needs of the multimorbid older adults.

scholarly journals Prevalence of Teenage Pregnancy in A Community Hospital of Rural Nepal: A Cross-Sectional Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (217) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muna Maharjan ◽  
Niresh Thapa ◽  
Narayani Maharjan ◽  
Pabita Rai ◽  
Prakash Pun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Birth Weight ◽  
Teenage Pregnancy ◽  
Community Hospital ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Premature Delivery ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Institutional Review ◽  
Rural Nepal

Introduction: Teenage pregnancy is a public health concern. Maternal and neonatal health outcomesare negatively impacted in teenage pregnancy. The objective of the study is to find the prevalence ofteenage pregnancy in a community hospital of rural Nepal. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Okhaldhunga Community Hospital,Okhaldhunga, Nepal. Ethical approval was taken from the Institutional Review Committee of thehospital. Data were retrieved from July 2007 to July 2017 from the hospital record books. The total of7054 records of deliveries were reviewed from the hospital records and whole sampling was done.Subgroup analysis was done on basis of age, ethnicity, gravida, para, period of gestation, mode ofdelivery, maternal or neonatal complications and birth weight. Datas were entered and analyzedusing Microsoft Excel. Results: The total of 7054 deliveries were conducted in ten years among which 2050 (29.06%) wereteenage deliveries at the confidence interval of 95% (28.52% - 29.06%). The highest percentage ofteenage delivery was found among Janajati ethnicity of 1056 (53.3%). Amongst teenage delivery, asignificant tear was found in 157 (7.9%) as a maternal complication. Perinatal deaths were found in27 (1.4%). The cesarean section rate was 839 (11.9%) among all deliveries. Conclusions: The trend of teenage pregnancy remains almost same over ten years in theOkhaldhunga Community Hospital. The overall prevalence of teenage delivery is higher than thenational figure. Low birth weight babies, premature delivery, perineal and cervical tears were thecommon complications. Further health education and awareness programs might help to reduce theteenage pregnancy rate.

scholarly journals Capacity and Readiness for Implementing Evidence-Based Task-Strengthening Strategies for Hypertension Control in Ghana: A Cross-Sectional Study

Global Heart ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solomon Nyame ◽  
Juliet Iwelunmor ◽  
Gbenga Ogedegbe ◽  
Kezia Gladys Amaning Adjei ◽  
Kwame Adjei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Hypertension Control ◽  
Cross Sectional

scholarly journals A New Lebanese Medication Adherence Scale: Validation in Lebanese Hypertensive Adults

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Bou Serhal ◽  
P. Salameh ◽  
N. Wakim ◽  
C. Issa ◽  
B. Kassem ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medication Adherence ◽  
Scale Validation ◽  
Sodium Intake ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Hypertension Control ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Adherence Scale ◽  
Good Internal Consistency ◽  
Average Measure

Background. A new Lebanese scale measuring medication adherence considered socioeconomic and cultural factors not taken into account by the eight-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8). Objectives were to validate the new adherence scale and its prediction of hypertension control, compared to MMAS-8, and to assess adherence rates and factors. Methodology. A cross-sectional study, including 405 patients, was performed in outpatient cardiology clinics of three hospitals in Beirut. Blood pressure was measured, a questionnaire filled, and sodium intake estimated by a urine test. Logistic regression defined predictors of hypertension control and adherence. Results. 54.9% had controlled hypertension. 82.4% were adherent by the new scale, which showed good internal consistency, adequate questions (KMO coefficient = 0.743), and four factors. It predicted hypertension control (OR = 1.217; p value = 0.003), unlike MMAS-8, but the scores were correlated (ICC average measure = 0.651; p value < 0.001). Stress and smoking predicted nonadherence. Conclusion. This study elaborated a validated, practical, and useful tool measuring adherence to medications in Lebanese hypertensive patients.

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