Adherence to proper blood pressure measurements among Interns at University of Gondar Specialized Referral Hospital

Mihret Getnet ^* Amare Belete Getahun Desalegn Anmut Bitew Ayechew Adera Getu

• University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia

Introduction: Blood pressure is a lateral force exerted on the wall of arteries and critical for normal distribution of blood containing nutrients and oxygen to metabolic tissues. It is one of the vital signs often measured by interns, nurses and physicians at offices, bed side and possibly at home. Accurate blood pressure measurement is essential for proper diagnosis and management of patients especially with hypertension. The aim of this survey type of crossectional study is to assess the practice of measuring blood pressure by interns.Methods: This study was conducted in the form of a survey administered through face-to-face interviews. All the interns were approached. The survey will include questions about devices used, patient's information, and blood pressure measurement techniques. Epi-Data version 3.1 was used for data entry and exported to STATA 17 for data management and analysis. Chisquare assumption was checked to assess variables eligibility for logistic regression. Finally, in the multivariable binary logistic regression analysis, Variables with P-value<0.05 were considered to have statistical significant association. The Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with 95% CI was reported to declare the statistical significance and strength of association between adherence of blood pressure measurement and independent variables.The magnitude of appropriate adherence of blood pressure among interns was 10.1 (95%CI: 7.19, 13.9). A total of 318 Interns were participated in the current study. Of these study participants 65.4% (208) were males. Accordingly, an increase in participants age (AOR: 1.48, 95%CI: 1.09, 2.01), being male interns (AOR: 5.51, 95%CI: 1.51, 8.97), and having patients orientation about the procedure (AOR: 2.95, 95%CI: 1.19, 7.03), were factors significantly associated with appropriate adherence blood pressure measurement.Among six-year medical students (Interns) who had appropriate adherence blood pressure measurement was only 10%. Age, being male and patient orientations were significantly associated factors affecting adherence of blood pressure measurement. Considering the frequency of BP measurement and the impact of hypertension on morbidity and mortality, efforts are needed to maximize the quality of BP measurement by health professionals. This process should begin early during training and be consistent throughout their clinical practice, supplemented by ongoing education.