Introduction:
The growing burden of HTN is a major public health problem in Tanzania, with the estimated prevalence of 28%. The healthcare system faces major capacity constraints, including inadequate provider competencies; <60% of providers reported fair knowledge of HTN, and only 42% had access to HTN guidelines. Knowledge of HTN management standards and guidelines is prerequisite to improving HTN management.
Objective:
Determine the effect of instructional training videos in improving healthcare provider knowledge for HTN management.
Methods:
Eighteen primary healthcare facilities in the Dar es Salaam region were selected using stratified random sampling. In each facility, providers, who screened and managed patients for HTN, completed pre-test knowledge assessments. Subsequently, they were invited to an instructional training, using four, 4-5minute videos developed by investigators at Johns Hopkins. Post-test was conducted 5 months after the introduction of the videos.
Results:
Thirty-three clinicians participated in the pre-post study and consented to attending the video training workshop. Knowledge competencies showed significant improvement in most but not all aspects of HTN management (Table). For example, adequate knowledge about HTN increased from 78.8% to 100% (p<0.01), and knowledge of patient preparation prior to Blood Pressure (BP) screening increased from 69.7% to 93.9% ( p<0.05).
Conclusion:
In the context of a resource-constrained setting, low-cost training videos have the potential to improve healthcare provider knowledge for HTN management.