Ethiopian university students' knowledge and perception towards cardiovascular disease risk factors: a cross sectional study.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the commonest cause of morbidity and mortality with an estimation of 17.9 million deaths worldwide annually. Knowledge about the disease and risk factors changes individuals' health attitudes, behaviors and lifestyle practices. We assessed the knowledge and perception of University students towards CVD risk factors. A cross-sectional survey was done on undergraduate students at University of Gondar, Ethiopia. We stratified sampled students based on their colleges and then used convenience sampling technique to pick up study participants from each college. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Descriptive statistics were used to describe frequencies, percentages, mean and standard deviations of variables. Presence of association between independent and dependent variables was examined using logistic regression analysis. A P-value of < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Four hundred twenty-three students with a mean age of 22.07 ± 2.17 participated. Majority of them were male 279 (66.0%). Nearly one third (32.2%) of study subjects had good knowledge on CVD risk factors. More than 75% of study participants disagreed with ideas relating them to susceptibility towards CVD. Students from the college of medicine and health sciences were 2.6 times more knowledgeable about CVD risk factors than students from other colleges (P = 0.024). Similarly, students from college of medicine and health sciences perceived 2.3 times more positive towards severity of CVD than students from other colleges (P = 0.027). Students at University of Gondar were poorly knowledgeable about CVD risk factors and they perceive that they are not at risk of CVD. Educational intervention is needed to improve their knowledge.

Magnitude and determinants of uncontrolled blood pressure among hypertensive patients in Ethiopia: hospital-based observational study.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is an important public health problem worldwide. There is lack of data on uncontrolled blood pressure in developing countries. OBJECTIVES: To determine the magnitude and predicting factors of uncontrolled blood pressure in hypertensive patients attending Gondar university hospital, Ethiopia. METHODS: A hospital-based cross-sectional survey was conducted from July 2015 to March 2016. All hypertensive patients were followed and the blood pressure levels were measured. Binary logistic regression analysis was done to determine the predictors of uncontrolled blood pressure. A p-value of <0.05 was set at priori with 95% confidence interval to test the level of significance. RESULTS: Of the total 578 hypertension patients, 543 (93.9%) fulfilled the study criteria and were included in the final analysis. The mean age of the participants was 55.96±14.6 years. Nearly two-third (58.2%) of the participants were females. More than one-tenth (11.4%) of the respondents had uncontrolled blood pressure. High salt intake carried six times more risk of uncontrolled blood pressure. Elderly individuals had lower risk as compared to young age group. However, comorbidities were not related with uncontrolled blood pressure. CONCLUSIONS: Blood pressure control was relatively high in the hospital studied. High salt intake was strongly linked with uncontrolled blood pressure. Individuals with high salt intake should be followed for their medication experience and disease knowledge.

Magnitude and determinants of uncontrolled blood pressure among hypertensive patients in Ethiopia: hospital-based observational study

Background: Hypertension is an important public health problem worldwide. There is lack of data on uncontrolled blood pressure in developing countries. Objectives: To determine the magnitude and predicting factors of uncontrolled blood pressure in hypertensive patients attending Gondar university hospital, Ethiopia. Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional survey was conducted from July 2015 to March 2016. All hypertensive patients were followed and the blood pressure levels were measured. Binary logistic regression analysis was done to determine the predictors of uncontrolled blood pressure. A p-value of <0.05 was set at priori with 95% confidence interval to test the level of significance. Results: Of the total 578 hypertension patients, 543 (93.9%) fulfilled the study criteria and were included in the final analysis. The mean age of the participants was 55.96±14.6 years. Nearly two-third (58.2%) of the participants were females. More than one-tenth (11.4%) of the respondents had uncontrolled blood pressure. High salt intake carried six times more risk of uncontrolled blood pressure. Elderly individuals had lower risk as compared to young age group. However, comorbidities were not related with uncontrolled blood pressure. Conclusions: Blood pressure control was relatively high in the hospital studied. High salt intake was strongly linked with uncontrolled blood pressure. Individuals with high salt intake should be followed for their medication experience and disease knowledge

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Challenges and opportunities of clinical pharmacy services in Ethiopia: A qualitative study from healthcare practitioners' perspective.

BACKGROUND: Currently, clinical pharmacists have in-depth therapeutic knowledge and scientific skills to act as drug therapy experts in healthcare settings. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the opportunities and challenges of clinical pharmacy services from the health practitioners' perspective in University of Gondar (UOG) hospital Ethiopia. METHODS: A qualitative study was performed using face-to-face in-depth interviews with health practitioners who were directly involved in clinical pharmacy services (clinical pharmacists, physicians, and nurses) in UOG hospital. RESULTS: A total of 15 health professionals from various specialties were interviewed to express their views towards clinical pharmacists' competencies and identified challenges and opportunities regarding their clinical services. Based on interviewees report, the opportunities for clinical pharmacists includes acceptance of their clinical services among health specialties, new government policy and high patient load in hospital. However, inadequacy of service promotions, lack of continuity of clinical pharmacy services in wards, poor drug information services, lack of commitment, lack of confidence among clinical pharmacists, conflict of interest due to unclear scope of practice, and absence of cooperation with health workers were some of the challenges identified by the interviewees. CONCLUSION: We identified health professionals working in UOG hospital are receptive towards clinical pharmacy services, but identified some of the potential challenges that needed to be focused to strengthen and promote clinical pharmacy services. Further, the opportunities at hand also need to be utilized astutely to boost the services.