RESUMO
Traditional patient- and provider-level hypertension interventions have proven insufficient to halt hypertension as the leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Systems-level interventions are required to address factors challenging hypertension control across a social ecological framework, an under-studied topic particularly salient in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) such as Peru. To inform such interventions, we sought to identify key health systems barriers to hypertension care in Puno, Peru. A participatory stakeholder workshop (October 2021) and 21 in-depth interviews (October 2021-March 2022) were conducted with 55 healthcare professionals (i.e., doctors, nurses, midwives, dentists, nutritionists), followed by a deductive qualitative analysis of transcripts and notes. Participating healthcare providers indicated that low prioritization and lack of national policies for hypertension care have resulted in limited funding and lack of societal-level prevention efforts. Additionally, limited cultural consideration, both in national guidelines as well as by some providers in Puno, results in inadequate care that may not align with local traditions. Providers highlighted that patient care is also hampered by inadequate distribution and occasional shortages of medications and equipment, as well as a lack of personnel and limited opportunities for training in hypertension. Multiple incompatible health information systems, complicated referral systems, and geographic barriers additionally hinder continuity of care and care seeking. Insights gained from health providers on the healthcare system in Puno provide essential contextual information to inform development of organizational-level strategies necessary to improve provider and patient behaviors to achieve better hypertension care outcomes.
RESUMO
El objetivo de este estudio fue describir las percepciones de los usuarios de Facebook que realizaron comentarios, en las publicaciones realizadas desde la cuenta oficial del Ministerio de Salud de Perú (MINSA), referentes a la campaña de vacunación contra el VPH. Se analizaron 2748 comentarios en Python con procesamiento de lenguaje natural. Con este proceso se obtuvieron palabras claves que luego fueron interpretadas de manera manual. Se encontraron mayoritariamente cuatro tipos de discursos dentro de ellos: a) apoyo a la publicación sobre la vacuna contra el VPH; b) rechazo a la vacuna contra el VPH; c) Vacuna contra el VPH en niños; d) Dudas sobre la vacuna contra el VPH. En su mayoría, los usuarios que expresaron una postura de rechazo de esta vacuna se respaldaban de links a noticias donde se presentaba un evento supuestamente atribuido a la vacunación o inmunización pero que carecía de una fuente de información confiable y/o verificable.
The objective of this study was to describe the perceptions of Facebook users who commented on posts made by the official account of the Ministry of Health of Peru (MINSA) regarding the HPV vaccination campaign. We analyzed 2748 comments in Python with natural language processing. With this process we obtained keywords that were then interpreted manually. We found mostly four types of discourse, within them: a) support for the publications of the HPV vaccine; b) refusal of the HPV vaccine; c) HPV vaccine in children; d) doubts about the HPV vaccine. For the most part, users who expressed a position against this vaccine relied on links to online news stories that presented an event supposedly attributed to vaccination or immunization but lacked a reliable and/or verifiable source of information.
