Interventions to Ensure the Continuum of Care for Hypertension During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Five Indian States—India Hypertension Control Initiative
Background: Hypertension is the leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease in India, but less than 10% of the estimated people with hypertension have blood pressure under control. The India Hypertension Control Initiative (IHCI) was implemented to strengthen hypertension management and control i...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Ubiquity Press
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Global Heart |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://globalheartjournal.com/articles/1010 |
| _version_ | 1828133958488948736 |
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| author | Abhishek Kunwar Kiran Durgad Prabhdeep Kaur Meenakshi Sharma Leimapokpam Swasticharan Madhavi Mallela Ashish Saxena Sadhana Tayade Sandeep Gill Bipin K. Gopal Anupam K. Pathni Fikru T. Tullu R. S. Dhaliwal Balram Bhargava |
| author_facet | Abhishek Kunwar Kiran Durgad Prabhdeep Kaur Meenakshi Sharma Leimapokpam Swasticharan Madhavi Mallela Ashish Saxena Sadhana Tayade Sandeep Gill Bipin K. Gopal Anupam K. Pathni Fikru T. Tullu R. S. Dhaliwal Balram Bhargava |
| author_sort | Abhishek Kunwar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Hypertension is the leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease in India, but less than 10% of the estimated people with hypertension have blood pressure under control. The India Hypertension Control Initiative (IHCI) was implemented to strengthen hypertension management and control in public sector health facilities. Since late March 2020, lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic limited healthcare access and disrupted the provision of essential health services. IHCI quickly implemented adaptive interventions to improve access to medications. Objectives: To estimate the availability of antihypertensive drugs in peripheral public sector facilities during the lockdown and the proportion of patients who received drugs through community drug distribution, i.e., through Health and Wellness Centers (HWCs)/Sub-Centers (SCs), the most peripheral public sector health facilities for primary care, and home delivery. Methods: We collected data from 29 IHCI districts of 5 states (Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, and Telangana) during April–May 2020. The population included individuals diagnosed with hypertension and enrolled under IHCI in all public sector primary care health facilities. We contacted a convenience sample of more than one-third of the functional HWC/SC and analyzed the proportion of facilities and patients who received drugs. We also contacted a convenience sample of patients telephonically to estimate their self-reported availability of drugs. Conclusion: Of the 4245 HWC/SC, more than one-third were contacted telephonically, and 85–88% had received antihypertensive medications for community-level distribution. Among 721,675 patients registered until March 2020, 38.4% had received drug refills through HWC/SC or home delivery by frontline workers during the lockdown. We demonstrated the feasibility of community-level drug distribution for patients with hypertension during the COVID-19 lockdown in India. The adaptive strategy of community-based drug distribution through HWC/SC and home delivery appears feasible and may help improve access to hypertension care during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T17:27:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c1441edfd74b4a849111ea44d8acc932 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2211-8179 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T17:27:10Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | Ubiquity Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Heart |
| spelling | doaj.art-c1441edfd74b4a849111ea44d8acc9322022-12-22T04:12:17ZengUbiquity PressGlobal Heart2211-81792021-12-0116110.5334/gh.1010898Interventions to Ensure the Continuum of Care for Hypertension During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Five Indian States—India Hypertension Control InitiativeAbhishek Kunwar0Kiran Durgad1Prabhdeep Kaur2Meenakshi Sharma3Leimapokpam Swasticharan4Madhavi Mallela5Ashish Saxena6Sadhana Tayade7Sandeep Gill8Bipin K. Gopal9Anupam K. Pathni10Fikru T. Tullu11R. S. Dhaliwal12Balram Bhargava13WHO Country Office for India, New DelhiWHO Country Office for India, New DelhiICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology, ChennaiIndian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New DelhiDirectorate General of Health Services, Ministry and Health, and Family Welfare, New DelhiState NCD Cell, Department of Health, Medical and Family Welfare, Govt of Telangana, HyderabadState NCD Cell, Directorate of Health Services, Govt of Madhya Pradesh, BhopalState NCD Cell, Directorate of Health Services, Govt of Maharashtra, MumbaiState NCD Cell, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Govt of Punjab, ChandigarhState NCD Cell, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Govt of Kerala, TrivandrumResolve to Save Lives, New DelhiWHO Country Office for India, New DelhiIndian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New DelhiIndian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New DelhiBackground: Hypertension is the leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease in India, but less than 10% of the estimated people with hypertension have blood pressure under control. The India Hypertension Control Initiative (IHCI) was implemented to strengthen hypertension management and control in public sector health facilities. Since late March 2020, lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic limited healthcare access and disrupted the provision of essential health services. IHCI quickly implemented adaptive interventions to improve access to medications. Objectives: To estimate the availability of antihypertensive drugs in peripheral public sector facilities during the lockdown and the proportion of patients who received drugs through community drug distribution, i.e., through Health and Wellness Centers (HWCs)/Sub-Centers (SCs), the most peripheral public sector health facilities for primary care, and home delivery. Methods: We collected data from 29 IHCI districts of 5 states (Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, and Telangana) during April–May 2020. The population included individuals diagnosed with hypertension and enrolled under IHCI in all public sector primary care health facilities. We contacted a convenience sample of more than one-third of the functional HWC/SC and analyzed the proportion of facilities and patients who received drugs. We also contacted a convenience sample of patients telephonically to estimate their self-reported availability of drugs. Conclusion: Of the 4245 HWC/SC, more than one-third were contacted telephonically, and 85–88% had received antihypertensive medications for community-level distribution. Among 721,675 patients registered until March 2020, 38.4% had received drug refills through HWC/SC or home delivery by frontline workers during the lockdown. We demonstrated the feasibility of community-level drug distribution for patients with hypertension during the COVID-19 lockdown in India. The adaptive strategy of community-based drug distribution through HWC/SC and home delivery appears feasible and may help improve access to hypertension care during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.https://globalheartjournal.com/articles/1010hypertensionindia hypertension control initiativecommunity drug distributioncovid-19 pandemic |
| spellingShingle | Abhishek Kunwar Kiran Durgad Prabhdeep Kaur Meenakshi Sharma Leimapokpam Swasticharan Madhavi Mallela Ashish Saxena Sadhana Tayade Sandeep Gill Bipin K. Gopal Anupam K. Pathni Fikru T. Tullu R. S. Dhaliwal Balram Bhargava Interventions to Ensure the Continuum of Care for Hypertension During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Five Indian States—India Hypertension Control Initiative Global Heart hypertension india hypertension control initiative community drug distribution covid-19 pandemic |
| title | Interventions to Ensure the Continuum of Care for Hypertension During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Five Indian States—India Hypertension Control Initiative |
| title_full | Interventions to Ensure the Continuum of Care for Hypertension During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Five Indian States—India Hypertension Control Initiative |
| title_fullStr | Interventions to Ensure the Continuum of Care for Hypertension During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Five Indian States—India Hypertension Control Initiative |
| title_full_unstemmed | Interventions to Ensure the Continuum of Care for Hypertension During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Five Indian States—India Hypertension Control Initiative |
| title_short | Interventions to Ensure the Continuum of Care for Hypertension During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Five Indian States—India Hypertension Control Initiative |
| title_sort | interventions to ensure the continuum of care for hypertension during the covid 19 pandemic in five indian states india hypertension control initiative |
| topic | hypertension india hypertension control initiative community drug distribution covid-19 pandemic |
| url | https://globalheartjournal.com/articles/1010 |
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