Doha, Qatar: Primary healthcare physicians who are integral to diagnosing and managing hypertension follow international guidelines and present with good knowledge about the highly prevailing condition in the country.
A study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, practice, priority, and confidence of primary care physicians in Qatar towards hypertension diagnosis and management, and to measure the determinants of good knowledge, desirable attitudes, and desirable practices.
A majority of 96.4% of respondents to the study have stated that they followed local or international treatment guidelines for hypertension management. Primary care physicians were highly confident and prioritised hypertension management.
The study ‘Assessment of knowledge, attitude, and practice of primary healthcare physicians in Qatar towards hypertension management: An online cross-sectional study’ was published on National Library of Medicine.
The study was conducted through a cross-sectional web-based survey using a modified version of the World Hypertension League Questionnaire.
The study results have highlighted that primary care physicians in Qatar had positive attitudes, with high overall confidence and certainty toward diagnosing and treating hypertension.
The study has assessed 197 physicians across health centres under the Primary Health care Corporation.
About 95.4% of the respondents follow the most appropriate method of treatment and prescribe blood pressure medications (antihypertensives) to patients. High blood pressure is a common condition that affects the body’s arteries. Untreated, high blood pressure increases the risk of heart attack, stroke and other serious health problems.
High blood pressure (hypertension) occurs when the systolic blood pressure is equal to or above 140mm Hg, and the diastolic blood pressure is equal to or above 90mm Hg.
Hypertension is one of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), its prevalence has doubled globally in the last three decades. According to the World Health Organiation (WHO), hypertension accounts for 12.8% of all deaths.
The prevalence of hypertension in Qatar is 33 percent of the adult population.
Without treatment, high blood pressure can lead to disability, a poor quality of life, or even a deadly heart attack or stroke. As the first step to health care, primary physicians play a major role in diagnosing the condition.
Therefore the study suggests that healthcare policymakers in Qatar should raise primary care physicians' awareness of the burden of untreated hypertension in the country by organising targeted educational programmes and emphasising the importance of following national clinical practice guidelines in the diagnosis and management of hypertension.
