Low levels of hypertension screening in HIV care clinics in rural Uganda: A mixed methods study

List of Authors

  1. Mucunguzi Atukunda ,  
  2. Edwin D. Charlebois ,  
  3. Brian Twinamatsiko
    ,  
  4. Ambrose Byamukama
    ,  
  5. Andrew Mutabazi
    ,  
  6. Cecilia Akatukwasa
    ,  
  7. Michael Ayebare
    ,  
  8. Winston Tindimwebwa
    ,  
  9. Alan Asiimwe
    ,  
  10. Geoff Lavoy
    ,  
  11. Elizabeth Arinitwe
    ,  
  12. Joan Nangendo
    ,  
  13. Justus Tumusiime
    ,  
  14. Laura B. Balzer ,  
  15. Emmy Okello
    ,  
  16. Gerald Mutungi
    ,  
  17. Heiner Grosskurth
    ,  
  18. Moses R. Kamya ,  
  19. Jane Kabami
Article Authors & roles Authors Peer review record Peer review Metrics
Cite

Abstract

Background

The prevalence of hypertension among people living with HIV (PLHIV) has increased over the last decade globally. Given the dual burden of disease and significant prior investment in HIV care, integrating care for hypertension and HIV is recommended. However, data on hypertension screening, treatment, and control before such integration are lacking. Using a mixed-methods approach, we assessed the baseline status of hypertension screening, treatment, and control in 52 Ugandan public health facilities, participating in an ongoing cluster randomised trial of an integrated HIV/HTN care model.

Methods

From November 2020 to March 2021, we reviewed patient records and randomly sampled 50 PLHIV without a documented hypertension diagnosis per health facility and all PLHIV with a documented hypertension diagnosis per health facility. We surveyed the sampled participants, measured their blood pressure, and described the hypertension care cascade. We also conducted in-depth interviews with 24 patients and 12 providers to explore their experience with hypertension screening and care. We used an in-depth thematic approach to analyze the resulting qualitative data.

Results

Among 2,645 PLHIV, <1% (20/2,645) had their BP measured within 6 months before the survey. The prevalence of hypertension was 13.6% (359/2,645), including 278 (10.5%) new diagnoses and 32 (1.2%) prior diagnoses that were not documented in their health record. Of 49 with a previously documented hypertension diagnosis, 31 (63.3%) were on hypertension treatment, and 53.1% had controlled hypertension. In-depth interviews with providers and patients revealed a lack of blood pressure equipment, high patient load, limited technical hypertension knowledge, and patients' fear of anticipated long waiting times as reasons for low hypertension screening in the HIV clinics.

Conclusion

Regular screening for the detection of hypertension patients was hardly performed. There is an urgent need for interventions to advance the integration of hypertension care in HIV clinics.

Corresponding author
Mucunguzi Atukunda
0000-0003-4762-0728
Grant information

This project has received funding from the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership programme under grant agreement No CSA2018HS2518 (Leveraging the HIV Platform for Hypertension Control in Uganda [INTEGRATED HIV/HTN]).

The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Copyright
© 2024 Mucunguzi Atukunda (Corresponding Author, Co-Author); Edwin D. Charlebois (Co-Author); Brian Twinamatsiko (Co-Author); Ambrose Byamukama (Co-Author); Andrew Mutabazi (Co-Author); Cecilia Akatukwasa (Co-Author); Michael Ayebare (Co-Author); Winston Tindimwebwa (Co-Author); Alan Asiimwe (Co-Author); Geoff Lavoy (Co-Author); Elizabeth Arinitwe (Co-Author); Joan Nangendo (Co-Author); Justus Tumusiime (Co-Author); Laura B. Balzer (Co-Author); Emmy Okello (Co-Author); Gerald Mutungi (Co-Author); Heiner Grosskurth (Co-Author); Moses R. Kamya (Co-Author); Jane Kabami (Co-Author) Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

First version published
Latest version published

Comments

Authors & roles

Mucunguzi Atukunda

Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration, Kampala, Central Region, Uganda

Roles
Corresponding Author, Co-Author, Data Curation, Investigation, Methodology, Project Administration, Supervision, Writing – Original Draft Preparation, Writing – Review & Editing
0000-0003-4762-0728

Edwin D. Charlebois

University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94158, USA

Roles
Co-Author, Conceptualization, Data Curation, Formal Analysis, Funding Acquisition, Methodology, Validation, Visualization, Writing – Original Draft Preparation, Writing – Review & Editing
0000-0001-7237-2119

Brian Twinamatsiko

Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration, Kampala, Central Region, Uganda

Roles
Co-Author, Investigation, Project Administration, Supervision

Ambrose Byamukama

Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration, Kampala, Central Region, Uganda

Roles
Co-Author, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Methodology

Andrew Mutabazi

Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration, Kampala, Central Region, Uganda

Roles
Co-Author, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Methodology

Cecilia Akatukwasa

Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration, Kampala, Central Region, Uganda

Roles
Co-Author, Data Curation, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Writing – Review & Editing

Michael Ayebare

Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration, Kampala, Central Region, Uganda

Roles
Co-Author, Data Curation, Investigation, Methodology, Supervision

Winston Tindimwebwa

Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration, Kampala, Central Region, Uganda

Roles
Co-Author, Investigation, Methodology, Supervision

Alan Asiimwe

Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration, Kampala, Central Region, Uganda

Roles
Co-Author, Data Curation, Investigation, Methodology

Geoff Lavoy

Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration, Kampala, Central Region, Uganda

Roles
Co-Author, Data Curation, Methodology

Elizabeth Arinitwe

Uganda Heart Institute Ltd, Kampala, Central Region, Uganda

Roles
Co-Author, Investigation, Methodology, Project Administration, Supervision

Joan Nangendo

Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Central Region, Uganda

Roles
Co-Author, Data Curation, Investigation, Methodology, Writing – Review & Editing

Justus Tumusiime

Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration, Kampala, Central Region, Uganda

Roles
Co-Author, Investigation, Methodology, Supervision

Laura B. Balzer

University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA

Roles
Co-Author, Data Curation, Formal Analysis, Validation, Visualization, Writing – Review & Editing
0000-0002-3730-410X

Emmy Okello

Uganda Heart Institute Ltd, Kampala, Central Region, Uganda

Roles
Co-Author, Conceptualization, Funding Acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Writing – Review & Editing

Gerald Mutungi

Non-Communicable Diseases Department, Ministry of Health Uganda, Kampala, Kampala, 256, Uganda

Roles
Co-Author, Conceptualization, Funding Acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Resources

Heiner Grosskurth

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, England, UK

Roles
Co-Author, Conceptualization, Data Curation, Funding Acquisition, Investigation, Writing – Review & Editing

Moses R. Kamya

Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration, Kampala, Central Region, Uganda

Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Central Region, Uganda

Roles
Co-Author, Conceptualization, Funding Acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Writing – Review & Editing
0000-0001-9106-4234

Jane Kabami

Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration, Kampala, Central Region, Uganda

Roles
Co-Author, Conceptualization, Funding Acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project Administration, Resources, Supervision, Writing – Original Draft Preparation, Writing – Review & Editing

Downloads over the last 12 months:

Cited by

via Crossref

View citing articles