title: [Diagnostic approach and treatment of hypertension in healthcare workers in Abidjan's district (Ivory Coast)].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Epidemiological data concerning hypertension among health care workers are scarce.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic process and treatment of hypertension among a healthcare worker population in order to improve treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a prospective study including 821 healthcare workers from Abidjan's publics hospitals. There were 208 medical doctors, 464 nurses and 149 assistant nurses. There were 59% women, 41% men. The mean age was 42.9 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of hypertension was 17.5%: 48.1% among teaching medical doctors, 13.6% in the group of other medical doctors, 14.9% in the nurses group and 18.8% in the assistant nurse group. After recruitment as a healthcare worker, 86.9% of the cases of hypertension were diagnosed. When hypertension was diagnosed, 74.3% had presented symptoms. The disease was diagnosed by a physician in 77.8% of cases and by a nurse in 22%. In many cases (67.8%), the follow-up was done by a cardiologist; 15.7% by general practitioners. However, 10.7% of the healthcare workers with hypertension had no medical follow-up. Single-drug treatment was most commonly used (49.7%); 36.4% were taking two drugs. Poor compliance with treatment was noted in 71.1% of he healthcare workers with hypertension (clearly poor compliance for 40.5% and problems with compliance for 30.6%). Among those with clearly poor compliance, 29% had stopped taking their medication and seven individuals had declined taking any medication. Poor compliance was most commonly observed among assistant nurses (52.9%) and nurses (42.6%). People taking a combination of two or three drugs complied better with their treatment.
authors.affiliation: Institut de cardiologie d'Abidjan, BP V, 206, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. koninchristophe@yahoo.fr
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Konin
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kramoh
authors.forename: J-B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Anzouan-Kacou
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Essam N'Loo
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yayé
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: N'Djessan
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Adoh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007560:Cote d'Ivoire; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000451:nursing; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016903:Drug Monitoring
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents