Awareness, treatment and control of hypertension in Hargeisa, Somaliland

Abstract Objective To assess whether and to what extent hypertension is treated and controlled and to determine risk factors for uncontrolled hypertension among adult patients seeking care at Hargeisa group hospital in Hargeisa, Somaliland. Methods We conducted a health facility-based cross-sectional study on 324 patients, aged 18 years and older, at the main referral hospital of Hargeisa, Somaliland. We used a modified WHO STEPS questionnaire to obtain patient information from June 13 to August 15, 2022. We followed a cascade of care approach to analyse the care of hypertension. We applied logistic regression to assess the association between risk factors and uncontrolled hypertension. Results There was a high awareness of hypertension among outpatients, as 91.7% (95% confidence interval (CI); 82.1–96.5) knew their condition. Among patients being aware of hypertension, 92.4% (95% CI; 82.5–97.2%) were on treatment for blood pressure control. Only 9.8% (95% CI; 4.1–20.9%) of the patients under treatment had their blood pressure level under control. Results from logistic regression model showed that individuals aged above 64 years, females, those who consumed Khat, those who were obese and those with hypercholesterolaemia had higher odds of uncontrolled blood pressure. Conclusion Our results suggest that nine out of ten outpatients in Hargeisa, Somaliland, who were on hypertension treatment, did not reach treatment goals. This considerable gap in blood pressure control is likely to increase the risk of complications such as cardiovascular diseases including heart failure, renal failure and stroke. Hence, there is a pressing need to implement control programme in Somaliland.