A study on problems in diagnosis and treatment of hypertension in rural areas of Iran

BACKGROUND: Health Houses are centers to provide first level health care to the large number of rural population in Iran. Major causes of death in rural areas indicate the implementation of many health care services without adequate awareness about effective local and cultural factors. Identifying local problems is crucial for prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment of hypertension in Health Houses. In this paper, we analyzed the main problems in diagnosis and treatment of hypertension in a rural health center and presented solutions and methods for solving these problems. METHODS: In this cross-sectional survey, medical history and blood pressure charts of 93 hypertensive patients were used to collect data. Moreover, the attitudes of patients regarding the disease and its treatment were recorded in a questionnaire to evaluate effective cultural and behavioral factors in hypertension control. All data was analyzed in SPSS18. RESULTS: The most common reason of uncontrolled hypertension was avoiding drug use due to forgetfulness in women and disease denial in men. In addition, we found multidrug treatment to be more effective than single-drug therapy in controlling high blood pressure. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the number of males with diagnosed hypertension was fewer than females. Moreover, compared to female patients, male patients referred to the health center less frequently. Their blood pressure was thus less controlled and they experienced more complications of the disease. Adequate education, especially in men, seems to be necessary to change the attitudes toward the disease and receiving treatment.