Healthcare providers and policymakers’ perspectives on enablers and barriers to hypertension management in Ghana: a qualitative study

Effective management of hypertension is crucial for reducing its burden, yet significant gaps remain in achieving optimal blood pressure control in Ghana. Therefore, understanding the perspectives of key stakeholders including healthcare providers and health policymakers is essential for identifying barriers and enablers to hypertension management. Using the chronic care model, this study aimed to explore the perspectives of healthcare providers and policymakers on the barriers and enablers to effective hypertension management in Ghana. We conducted in-depth interviews with healthcare providers (n = 18) and health policymakers (n = 4) involved in hypertension patient care and policy formulation and implementation respectively. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically using NVivo to generate themes and subthemes. Three main themes were related to barriers: government level barriers, healthcare provider institutional barriers and patient level barriers. Four themes namely, patient follow-up and education, policy and structural support, professional knowledge and training, and teamwork and collaboration emerged as enablers hypertension control. This study provides insight into the multifaceted barriers and enablers to hypertension management from the perspective of healthcare providers and policymakers. The findings emphasise the need for a comprehensive multistakeholder approach to address the complex challenges in hypertension management in Ghana’s Ashanti region. We recommend that future research should evaluate the impact of community-based interventions on the management of hypertension using a multistakeholder approach.