Managing hypertension in a Rohingya refugee camp: a brief report

Area of Science:

• Global Health
• Public Health
• Non-communicable Diseases

Background:

• Non-communicable diseases, particularly hypertension, are leading causes of death globally, disproportionately affecting low- and middle-income countries.
• Over 750,000 Rohingya refugees have resettled in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, facing significant health challenges.
• Effective management of chronic conditions like hypertension is crucial in humanitarian settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish a sustainable hypertension management service within primary care for Rohingya refugees.
• To improve the quality of hypertension care in a challenging humanitarian context.
• To assess the feasibility and impact of a structured hypertension program in refugee camps.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a quality improvement project using plan-do-study-act cycles.
• Establishment of a specialized hypertension clinic and development of a treatment algorithm.
• Training of pharmacists and community health workers, alongside patient and staff education.

Main Results:

• In 2020, 554 patients were enrolled in the hypertension service, with 64.6% attending at least one follow-up.
• Mean blood pressure (BP) at baseline was 141.7/88.1 mm Hg.
• Patients in the program experienced a significant reduction in BP by 8.2/6.0 mm Hg (p<0.0001).

Conclusions:

• It is feasible to create and implement a hypertension service in humanitarian crisis settings.
• The project demonstrated successful improvement in hypertension control among Rohingya refugees.
• Challenges remain in ensuring long-term patient retention in care within refugee populations.