Nurses' Challenges When Managing Patients with Hypertension in Primary Care: A Qualitative Study

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Primary Care
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• The demand for healthcare services is increasing, leading to an expansion of primary care nurses' roles.
• This role expansion presents challenges that can affect patient care quality.
• Hypertension care is used as a case study to explore these evolving nursing roles and challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the diverse roles of primary care nurses.
• To identify the challenges faced by primary care nurses in their expanded roles.
• To examine the specific context of hypertension care within primary care nursing.

Main Methods:

• An exploratory qualitative study was conducted in Singapore.
• Thirteen nurses from 5 public primary care clinics were interviewed.
• Thematic analysis was used to analyze interview data.

Main Results:

• Nurses perform traditional duties and expanded clinical roles in hypertension care, including home blood pressure monitoring guidance and medication titration.
• Key challenges identified include time constraints, lack of continuity of care, unclear guidelines, inefficient workflows, and insufficient training.
• Nurses also reported issues with overlapping services and a lack of patient-provided home blood pressure readings.

Conclusions:

• Strategic planning, clear role definitions, and workflow optimization are crucial for supporting nurses in their diverse primary care roles.
• Targeted training and regular multidisciplinary meetings are needed to define and support evolving nursing responsibilities.
• Balancing professionalism with increasing healthcare demands is essential for the future of nursing in primary care.