Browsing by Author "Mbulaje, Lucia Davie Ambajilyn"

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    Hypertension service delivery capacity assessment in Malawi: Results from Malawi longitudinal study of families and health in Balaka, Machinga, Mchinji and Rumphi health care facilities
    (Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, 2020-12-31) Mbulaje, Lucia Davie Ambajilyn
    Management of hypertension has challenges due to different factors. These include unavailability of drugs, poor infrastructure, inexperienced personnel, insufficient diagnostic tools, and high treatment costs. Malawi adopted a Package for Essential Non-communicable (PEN) and was incorporated in Malawi Standard Treatment Guidelines (MSTG) for the management of various diseases including hypertension in 2015. Since the inception of the MSTG, the service delivery capacity for hypertension care in some health care facilities has not been well researched. We conducted this cross-sectional study to assess health service capacity to deliver comprehensive hypertension care. Data were extracted from the parent study of Health Care Facility questionnaire of the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families Health. Descriptive statistics were analyzed using Stata version 14. Of the facilities managers’ qualifications, 53.6% or they were Medical Assistants and 45.8% of them had 2 years of post-secondary education. Most of the managers 82.1% did not have in-service training or update on topics specific to the diagnosis and/or management of hypertension. In 57.1% of the facilities, copies of protocols and guidelines for the or management of hypertension were not available. Aspirin was the most available drug (89.3%) and Calcium Channel Blockers were not available in 69.7% of the health care facilities. We have found gaps in health facilities capacity to deliver comprehensive hypertension care. Future interventions should aim in targeting the highlighted gaps to improve capacity.