PREVALENCE AND CONTROL OF HYPERTENSION AMONG RURAL ADULTS IN THE LIKPE SUB-MUNICIPALITY OF THE HOHOE MUNICIPALITY OF GHANA

Background: Hypertension is an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Its prevalence is highest in Africa. This study was limited to four selected sentinel sites for University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) School of Public Health (SPH). The study assessed the prevalence of hypertension among adults resident in rural communities in the Hohoe Municipality of Ghana. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional survey involving adults 18 years and above in four rural communities was used. Data was collected using face-to-face interviews with WHO STEPwise questionnaire. Standardized methods were used for blood pressure and anthropometric measurements. Results: A total of 289 adults were surveyed and 146 (50.5%) including those on treatment were hypertensive. At the time of the survey, 108 (37.4%) of the respondents were hypertensive. There were 87 (30.1%) known hypertensive of which 49 (56.3%) could not control their HPT (uncontrolled HPT). Of the 202 respondents who had never been diagnosed with hypertension, 59 (29.2%) had raised blood pressure (unknown HPT). Age and family history of HPT were found to be associated with HPT. Overall, WHR and WHR for women were found to be positively correlated with HPT (p=0.006 & p=0.036) respectively. Conclusion: Half of the adult’s population in the selected rural communities had HPT. One out of three (29.2%) adults’ population had hypertension and were not aware. There is very high (56.3%) uncontrolled HPT in these communities. This may be a reflection of what pertains in rural Ghana. Information from this study would serve as the basis for introducing primary preventive and control interventions including awareness creation, screening, referrals and counselling programmes in these selected communities by the SPH-UHAS. A national mapping of HPT prevalence and control is required