title: Unmet needs in the measurement of blood pressure in primary care.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Blood pressure (BP) monitoring in UK children at risk of hypertension takes place predominantly in secondary and tertiary care.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate (i) the availability of paediatric BP equipment in primary care (PC) and (ii) the confidence of PC professionals in measuring and interpreting children's BP.
  
  
  METHODS
  103 PC practices were approached to complete a questionnaire. BP equipment availability and confidence with BP measurement and interpretation were recorded (interval scale 1-10). Cuff size and equipment type were documented.
  
  
  RESULTS
  95 (92%) practices responded; 40/95 possessed paediatric BP cuffs. 35/51 devices were validated for paediatric use. Median (IQR) confidence in BP measurement was 7 (2-8). Confidence in BP interpretation was 3 (2-6), though this improved if normal ranges were provided (8 (6-9), p<0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Investment in appropriate equipment and education is required to allow PC to successfully monitor BP in children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatric Nephrology and NIHR/Wellcome Trust Children's Clinical Research Facility, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, , Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zaheer
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.forename: N J A
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Webb
mesh_terms: D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002648:Child; D006282:Health Personnel; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: Blood pressure; Paediatrics; Primary care