Key result
Primary care physicians show high confidence but low knowledge in managing hypertension, averaging ~42% correct.
Why the study?
Primary health care is integral to hypertension diagnosis and management, prompting an assessment of primary care physicians' knowledge, attitude, practice, priority, and confidence in Qatar.
Cross-Sectional (n=197)
Yes
Despite high confidence in managing hypertension, primary care physicians in Qatar demonstrate significant gaps in specific knowledge and adherence to local guidelines, highlighting a need for targeted educational interventions.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
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High confidence despite knowledge gaps risks overestimating competence; leaves open whether targeted education improves hypertension management in primary care.
Primary health care is integral to diagnosing and managing hypertension. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, practice, priority, and confidence of primary care physicians in Qatar toward hypertension diagnosis and management, and to measure the determinants of good knowledge, desirable attitudes, and desirable practices. We conducted a cross-sectional web-based survey using a modified version of the World Hypertension League Questionnaire during the period from August 30th to October 23rd, 2020. All primary care physicians working in any of Qatar's 27 publicly run primary healthcare centers were invited to participate in the survey. Out of the 450 primary care physicians working at that time, 197 completed the study questionnaire with a response rate of 43.8%. Most respondents stated that they followed local or international treatment guidelines for hypertension management (96.4%). Primary care physicians were highly confident and prioritized hypertension management. The overall desirable practice score was 73.8%, with the highest score (95.4%) for assessing adherence to antihypertensive medications, whereas the lowest desirable practice score was 33.5% for counseling on home blood pressure monitoring. Fifty-one-point eight percentage and 62.4% correctly identified 140 mm Hg and 90 mm Hg as the systolic and diastolic blood pressure threshold for diagnosing hypertension in most patients. The lowest knowledge scores were for hypertension epidemiology in Qatar and recommended dietary modification for hypertensive patients. Respondents had positive attitudes toward task sharing with nonphysician healthcare workers for most items (58.9%-78.2%), except for drug prescriptions (30.5%). Primary care physicians in Qatar had positive attitudes, with high overall confidence and conviction (priority) scores toward hypertension. However, their knowledge scores and certain practices were suboptimal. Healthcare policymakers in Qatar should raise primary care physicians awareness of the current burden of untreated hypertension in the country by organizing targeted educational programs and emphasizing the importance of following national clinical practice guidelines in the diagnosis and management of hypertension.
Joudeh et al. (2023) conducted a cross-sectional in Hypertension management practices (n=197). Knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding hypertension was evaluated on Scores for knowledge, attitude, practice, priority, and confidence toward hypertension management. Primary care physicians in Qatar showed high confidence (mean score 91.0%) and priority (85.2%) toward hypertension management, but their overall knowledge (42.4%) and attitude (56.4%) scores were suboptimal.