community study of hypertension in the Seychelles

The ministry of health and social services in the Seychelles recently set up a health service audit unit. One of its first projects was to look at the management of high blood pressure. Questionnaires about hypertension to patients and doctors in Seychelles showed wide discrepancies between the belief of each group. Some of the important misconceptions which interfered with clinical management are described. There was also a gap between the management that doctors would like to employ and the records of their actual performance. The results were presented to health workers for consideration, and following this discussion of discrepancies, changes were proposed. This paper describes the practical arrangements proposed and suggests means of avoiding difficulty in implementation