Janse van Rensburg Zelda, Vincent-Lambert Craig
Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg.
Afr J Prim Health Care Fam Med. 2025 Apr 18;17(1):e1-e6. doi: 10.4102/phcfm.v17i1.4735.
Hypertension remains a significant risk factor for the development of several non-communicable diseases such as stroke, myocardial infarction and renal failure. In many African countries, undiagnosed and unmanaged hypertension within the population remains a challenge. Proactive screening and health education therefore become important interventions.
This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of hypertension among community members in a low-income, peri-urban community.
The study was conducted in Otjomuise township, Windhoek, Namibia.
A quantitative, cross-sectional design with a survey method was followed. A pre-validated health screening instrument was used to record the presence of hypertension in a sample of 358 community members who presented for screening over 2 days. A purposive sampling method was employed. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure reading were recorded, analysed and categorised using the American Heart Association classification scale. Blood pressures were classified as being either normal, elevated, hypertension stage 1 or hypertension stage 2. The data were analysed by a statistician using SPSS version 27 statistical software program and presented in tables.
A total of 210/358 (59%) of participants were found to have blood pressures within normal limits. Moreover, 57/358 (16%) had elevated blood pressures, 52/358 (14%) were in hypertension stage 1 and 39/358 (11%) were in hypertension stage 2.
The 41% prevalence of abnormally elevated blood pressures found in our study is in line with the findings of other studies and confirms that hypertension in the Namibian population remains an ongoing public health concern. Larger scale and more regular screening exercises with appropriate referral are recommended.Contribution: Our study give insight on the prevalence of hypertension in a community in Namibia.
高血压仍然是中风、心肌梗死和肾衰竭等多种非传染性疾病发展的重要风险因素。在许多非洲国家，人群中未被诊断和管理的高血压仍然是一项挑战。因此，积极筛查和健康教育成为重要的干预措施。
本研究旨在调查低收入城郊社区居民中的高血压患病率。
该研究在纳米比亚温得和克的奥乔穆伊斯镇进行。
采用定量横断面设计和调查方法。使用经过预验证的健康筛查工具，记录在2天内前来筛查的358名社区成员样本中高血压的存在情况。采用立意抽样方法。使用美国心脏协会分类量表记录、分析和分类收缩压和舒张压读数。血压分为正常、升高、1期高血压或2期高血压。数据由统计学家使用SPSS 27版统计软件程序进行分析，并以表格形式呈现。
总共210/358（59%）的参与者血压在正常范围内。此外，57/358（16%）的人血压升高，52/358（14%）处于1期高血压，39/358（11%）处于2期高血压。
我们研究中发现的41%的异常血压升高患病率与其他研究结果一致，并证实纳米比亚人群中的高血压仍然是一个持续存在的公共卫生问题。建议进行更大规模、更定期的筛查，并进行适当转诊。贡献：我们的研究提供了纳米比亚一个社区高血压患病率的相关见解。
