Nurse-Led Interventions for Hypertension: A Scoping Review With Implications for Evidence-Based Practice.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is the leading preventable contributor to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, affecting 1 billion people globally. Low- and middle-income countries have increasing rates of hypertension, much of it undiagnosed.

AIMS: The purpose of the project is to review studies of nurse-led hypertension interventions that have been implemented in East Africa and to inform hypertension interventions in low-resource settings.

METHODS: A scoping review was conducted following Arksey and O'Malley's (2005) format. An electronic search in six databases for citations was conducted by the medical librarian author. The parameters for this scoping review were nurse interventions related to hypertension in East Africa.

RESULTS: Fourteen full-text articles were identified that met inclusion criteria. Nurse-led interventions for hypertension were found to increase access to care and be cost- effective. Medication Adherence Clubs were an innovative intervention that increased the retention of patients in care.

LINKING EVIDENCE TO ACTION: This scoping review provides evidence from studies of nurse-led hypertension interventions in East Africa relevant to implementing or improving hypertension screening, diagnosis, and treatment. Nurses provide 80% of health care in East Africa, and nurse-led hypertension interventions are critically needed to ameliorate the significant hypertension-related increases in morbidity and mortality globally.