Background: Nurses in Ghana play a vital role in the delivery of primary health care at both the household\nand community level. However, there is lack of information on task shifting the management and control\nof hypertension to community health nurses in low- and middle-income countries including Ghana. The\npurpose of this study was to assess nurses� knowledge and practice of hypertension management and\ncontrol pre- and post-training utilizing task-shifting strategies for hypertension control in Ghana (TASSH).\nMethods: A pre- and post- test survey was administered to 64 community health nurses (CHNs) and\nenrolled nurses (ENs) employed in community health centers and district hospitals before and after the\nTASSH training, followed by semi-structured qualitative interviews that assessed nurses� satisfaction with the\ntraining, resultant changes in practice and barriers and facilitators to optimal hypertension management.\nResults: A total of 64 CHNs and ENs participated in the TASSH training. The findings of the pre- and post-training\nassessments showed a marked improvement in nurses� knowledge and practice related to hypertension detection and\ntreatment. At pre-assessment 26.9% of the nurses scored 80% or more on the hypertension knowledge test, whereas\nthis improved significantly to 95.7% post-training. Improvement of interpersonal skills and patient education were also\nmentioned by the nurses as positive outcomes of participation in the intervention.\nConclusions: Findings suggest that if all nurses receive even brief training in the management and control of\nhypertension, major public health benefits are likely to be achieved in low-income countries like Ghana. However,\nmore research is needed to ascertain implementation fidelity and sustainability of interventions such as TASSH that\nhighlight the potential role of nurses in mitigating barriers to optimal hypertension control in Ghana.
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