Key result
Community health worker engagement is linked to improved blood pressure control and reduced systolic pressure.
Why the study?
Hypertension is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in South Africa, but management is difficult in under-resourced informal settlements and detailed, shareable datasets from community health worker programmes are scarce.
Does a community health worker-led hypertension management programme improve blood pressure control in adults in informal settlements?
Does a community health worker-led hypertension management programme improve blood pressure control in adults in informal settlements?
This dataset provides a resource for analyzing the implementation and outcomes of a CHW-led hypertension management program in a low-resource urban setting.
Supports CHW programs for hypertension in informal settlements; leaves open causal benefits pending randomized evaluation.
Hypertension is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in South Africa, with management proving particularly difficult in under-resourced informal settlements. Community health worker (CHW) programmes are a potential strategy to improve care access, but detailed, shareable datasets from such interventions are scarce. This data descriptor documents and shares a curated dataset from a CHW-led hypertension management programme in Durban's informal settlements. Its objective is to provide a resource for analysing programme implementation, participant engagement, and clinical outcomes to inform public health practice and research. A longitudinal dataset was compiled from routine programme records. Trained CHWs conducted household visits for screening, health education, and blood pressure monitoring. Data were captured on participant demographics, clinical measurements, referral outcomes, and CHW activities. Data were anonymised, cleaned, and structured in a relational format. The dataset comprises records for over 1,800 adult participants. Preliminary analysis indicates an association between consistent CHW engagement and improved blood pressure control; among participants with multiple follow-up visits, a proportion achieved a reduction in systolic blood pressure. This structured dataset provides an evidence base on implementing a task-shifting model for non-communicable disease care in a low-resource urban setting. It offers insights into the processes and potential outcomes of community-based hypertension management. Researchers are encouraged to use this dataset for secondary analysis on topics such as adherence predictors and cost-effectiveness. Programme planners may use it to inform the design and monitoring of similar CHW initiatives in comparable contexts. hypertension, community health workers, task-shifting, non-communicable diseases, dataset, South Africa, informal settlements, public health surveillance This data descriptor contributes a unique, real-world dataset on a community-based hypertension programme, supporting the analysis of task-shifting models in low-resource settings.
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Nkosi et al. (2003) studied Adults with hypertension living in Durban's informal settlements in South Africa (n=1,800). Community health worker (CHW)-led hypertension management programme was evaluated on Blood pressure control measured by reduction in systolic blood pressure. Community health worker engagement was associated with improved blood pressure control and a proportion of participants with multiple follow-up visits achieved systolic blood pressure reduction.
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