The potential role of nursing students in the implementation of community-based hypertension screening programs in...

Hypertension (HTN), diabetes mellitus (DM) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are important health problems worldwide, and it is possible to reduce their burden through effective HTN screening and treatment programs. It may be feasible to incorporate such programs in the community outreach activities of nursing and medical schools in Sudan.

Village inhabitants in the Northern state of Sudan were invited to attend a free clinic for screening of hypertension as well as for follow up and treatment of persons with previously diagnosed hypertension. Fourth year nursing students from the National Ribat University were asked to record demographic data and blood pressure measurements for the attendants of the clinic.

A total of 389 adults were screened, their mean age was 41±15 years and 83.8% of them were females. Family history of HTN, DM and CKD was reported by 52.7%, 40.4% and 12.9% respectively. Personal history of HTN, DM and CKD was reported by 28.5%, 17% and 6.4% respectively. The overall prevalence of HTN was 39.6%. Among persons previously diagnosed as hypertensive, 80.2% were on antihypertensive medication but only 48.6% had blood pressure > 140/90 mmHg. Among the 278 persons with no personal history of HTN, 19.1% had blood pressure ≥ 140/90 mmHg. Variables significantly and independently associated with the presence of HTN were family history of HTN (OR: 6.4, P: 0.005), less than 10 years of formal education (OR: 3.5, P: 0.000) and age ≥ 40 years (OR: 2.4, P: 0.005).

With proper coordination, nursing and medical students can effectively contribute to the implementation of hypertension screening programs.