Hypertension Diagnosis and Management in Africa Using Mobile Phones: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Target 3.4 of the third Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly proposes to reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by one-third. Epidemiological data presented by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2016 show that out of a total of 57 million deaths worldwide, approximately 41 million deaths occurred due to NCDs, with 78% of such deaths occurring in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). The majority of investigations on NCDs agree that the leading risk factor for mortality worldwide is hypertension. Over 75% of the world's mobile phone subscriptions reside in LMICs, hence making the mobile phone particularly relevant to mHealth deployment in Africa. This study is aimed at determining the scope of the literature available on hypertension diagnosis and management in Africa, with particular emphasis on determining the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of interventions based on the use of mobile phones. The bulk of the evidence considered overwhelmingly shows that SMS technology is yet the most used medium for executing interventions in Africa. Consequently, the need to define novel and superior ways of providing effective and low-cost monitoring, diagnosis, and management of hypertensionrelated NCDs delivered through artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques is clear.

Undiagnosed and uncontrolled hypertension in rural African adults: a scoping review protocol of primary health care interventions

“…Several African countries are improving their PHC services for HTN in rural settings by implementing tailored interventions. Examples include an annual screening programme for high-risk HTN patients in Kenya,43 task-shifting or task-sharing of skills to nurses for HTN care delivery in Ghana44 45 and South Africa,46 medication adherence clubs in Kenya,47 HTN diagnosis and management using mobile phones throughout Africa,48 community health campaigns including linkage to care for HTN in Ethiopia49 and Uganda,50 51 and integrated care delivery with HIV in SSA countries 52…”