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Jongen VW, Lalla-Edward ST, Vos AG, Godijk NG, Tempelman H, Grobbee DE, Devillé W, Klipstein-Grobusch K. Hypertension in a rural community in South Africa: what they know, what they think they know and what they recommend. BMC Public Health 2019; 19:341. [PMID: 30909905 PMCID: PMC6434617 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-019-6642-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2018] [Accepted: 03/10/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Hypertension is one of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular disease and has a high prevalence in South Africa and other low- and middle-income countries. However, awareness of hypertension has been reported to be low. Health programmes can increase awareness of hypertension and its causes, but hinge on the knowledge and perception of the targeted community. Therefore, this study investigated knowledge on and perceptions about hypertension of community members in a rural area in Limpopo, South Africa with the aim to increase awareness of hypertension and cardiovascular disease in the local population. Methods Using a mixed methods study approach, 451 participants of the Ndlovu Cohort Study, attending a follow-up visit between August 2017 and January 2018, completed a questionnaire on cardiovascular risk perception. A knowledge score was calculated for all participants. Sixty participants were invited to participate in six focus group discussions, of which 56 participated. Audio recordings were transcribed verbatim, transcripts coded, and thematic analysis of the data undertaken to obtain an understanding of knowledge and perception of hypertension in the community. Results Most members of the community seemed to have intermediate (74.3%) or good (14.0%) knowledge of hypertension based on the knowledge score, and only 11.8% of the population had poor knowledge. The risk factors of hypertension seemed to be well known in the community. Poverty was identified as a major vulnerability in this community limiting choices for healthy lifestyles such as nutritious foods, recreational physical activity and accessing health care timely. Participants proposed community-based activities as an effective way to reach out to community members for prevention and management of hypertension. Conclusion This study highlights the need for improved health promotion efforts to increase knowledge of hypertension in rural communities, and to address poverty as a major obstacle to healthy life-style choices. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-019-6642-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vita W Jongen
- Julius Global Health, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, PO Box 85500, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Samanta T Lalla-Edward
- Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Health Sciences, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Alinda G Vos
- Julius Global Health, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, PO Box 85500, Utrecht, The Netherlands.,Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Health Sciences, Johannesburg, South Africa.,Department of Internal Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Noortje G Godijk
- Julius Global Health, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, PO Box 85500, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Hugo Tempelman
- Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Health Sciences, Johannesburg, South Africa.,Ndlovu Care Group, Elandsdoorn, South Africa
| | - Diederick E Grobbee
- Julius Global Health, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, PO Box 85500, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Walter Devillé
- Julius Global Health, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, PO Box 85500, Utrecht, The Netherlands.,Ndlovu Care Group, Elandsdoorn, South Africa
| | - Kerstin Klipstein-Grobusch
- Julius Global Health, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, PO Box 85500, Utrecht, The Netherlands. .,Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
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