Challenges in the Care and Follow-Up of Hypertensive Patients in Fako Division, Southwest Region of Cameroon

The purpose of the study is to appraise challenges surrounding the care and follow-up of hypertensive patients in Fako Division in the Southwest Region of Cameroon, and recommend a more comprehensive and adaptable approach. Concerning the theoretical scope, the study was guided by the Health Belief Model (HBM) as applied by Tarkang and Zotor (2015), the Theory of Human Caring and the Theory of Health Promotion Model (Devi et al., 2017). It was a hospital-based study that employed a cross-sectional qualitative survey design. All hypertensive patients and their caregivers visiting the hospital during the study period, as well as nurses and prescribers in the study setting, were involved conveniently. Two health facilities were randomly selected, one public and one non-public, from among all the health units in the 4 main subdivisions of Fako, making a total of 8 health facilities of primary, secondary and tertiary levels. Data were collected using an interview guide directed to patients, caregivers, nurses, and prescribers. The abstraction of the data was reduced following the thematic analysis process. The findings unfolded that both nurses and physicians/prescribers recommended the complementarity between pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches to treatment, with particular attention paid to prevention. Nurses had positive attitudes towards the management of hypertension, and patients were mostly satisfied with treatment. However, a number of barriers were identified and urged to be resolved. Compliance with treatment, as well as treatment outcomes, were hindered by several factors, notably the diversity of treatment guidelines, the high cost of treatment, the inadequate availability of drugs, the ineffectiveness of some drugs, resistance to drugs, inadequacy of staff and motivation, inadequate competency of staff, poverty of patients, inadequacy of equipment notably BP machines that equally hinder self-monitoring by patients, non-compliance to treatment by patients, challenging home follow-up, enslavement of some areas, poor mobile network coverage in some areas, socio-political crisis, and psychological problems such as medication phobia and defection/pessimism.