Prevalence, determinants and systems-thinking approaches to optimal hypertension control in West Africa

Bibliographic Data

ID19534656
AuthorsJuliet Iwelunmor (0000-0003-1376-5443, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, corresponding author), Collins O Airhihenbuwa (0000-0001-5789-1551, Pennsylvania State University), Richard Cooper (0000-0002-3037-7779, Loyola University Medical Center), Bamidele O Tayo (0000-0002-2277-3958, Loyola University Medical Center), Bamidele Tayo, Jacob Plange-Rhule, Jacob Plange‐Rhule (0000-0002-3742-2616, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology), Richard Adanu (0000-0001-8053-6793, University of Ghana), Gbenga Ogedegbe (New York University)
Year2014
Volume10
Issue1
Pages42
Publication date2014-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGlobalization and Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1744-8603 • E-ISSN: 1744-8603
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1186/1744-8603-10-42
PMID24886649
PMCIDPMC4046625
OpenAlexW2163819233
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited29

BACKGROUND: In West Africa, hypertension, once rare, has now emerged as a critical health concern and the trajectory is upward and factors are complex. The true magnitude of hypertension in some West African countries, including in-depth knowledge of underlying risk factors is not completely understood. There is also a paucity of research on adequate systems-level approaches designed to mitigate the growing burden of hypertension in the region. AIMS: In this review, we thematically synthesize available literature pertaining to the prevalence of hypertension in West Africa and discuss factors that influence its diagnosis, treatment and control. We aimed to address the social and structural determinants influencing hypertension in the sub-region including the effects of urbanization, health infrastructure and healthcare workforce. FINDINGS: The prevalence of hypertension in West Africa has increased over the past decade and is rising rapidly with an urban-rural gradient that places higher hypertension prevalence on urban settings compared to rural settings. Overall levels of awareness of one's hypertension status remain consistently low in West African. Structural and economic determinants related to conditions of poverty such as insufficient finances have a direct impact on adherence to prescribed antihypertensive medications. Urbanization contributes to the increasing incidence of hypertension in the sub-region and available evidence indicates that inadequate health infrastructure may act as a barrier to optimal hypertension control in West Africa. CONCLUSION: Given that optimal hypertension control in West Africa depends on multiple factors that go beyond simply modifying the behaviors of the individuals alone, we conclude by discussing the potential role systems-thinking approaches can play to achieve optimal control in the sub-region. In the context of recent advances in hypertension management including new therapeutic options and innovative solutions to expand health workforce so as to meet the high demand for healthcare, the success of these strategies will rely on a new understanding of the complexity of human behaviors and interactions most aptly framed from a systems-thinking perspective

Development economics · Economic growth · Economics · Environmental health · Health economics · Health services research · Political science · Poverty · Public health · Rural area · Social determinants of health · Social policy · Urbanization · Workforce · Blood Pressure and Hypertension Studies · Global Maternal and Child Health · Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology · Medicine · Nursing