HYPERTENSION AWARENESS SCREENING AND TREATMENT ADHERENCE AMONG ADULTS IN KADUNA METROPOLIS, NIGERIA

Hypertension remains the leading modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease and premature death in Nigeria, yet community-level evidence on awareness screening and treatment adherence in the north-west of the country is scarce. This cross-sectional survey examined hypertension awareness screening and treatment adherence among adults in Kaduna Metropolis, Nigeria. Three objectives guided the study: to examine the association between age group and knowledge of blood pressure screening, to determine the frequency of blood pressure measurement, and to examine the association between family support and self-reported adherence to prescribed antihypertensive medication. A structured questionnaire, incorporating items adapted from the WHO STEPS instrument and the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale, was administered to 400 adults selected through multistage sampling across Kaduna North and Kaduna South Local Government Areas, of whom 398 valid responses (99.5%) were analysed with SPSS version 26. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests and one-way analysis of variance were employed at the 0.05 level of significance. Results showed that 46.2% of respondents had good knowledge of blood pressure screening, 22.6% had never had their blood pressure measured, and only 39.4% of respondents on prescribed antihypertensive medication reported high adherence. Age group was significantly associated with knowledge of blood pressure screening, χ²(6, N = 398) = 21.87, p = .001; the frequency of blood pressure measurement differed significantly across age groups, F(3, 394) = 4.86, p = .003; and family support was significantly associated with adherence to prescribed antihypertensive medication, χ²(4, N = 137) = 12.63, p = .013. The study concluded that awareness screening practices in the metropolis were suboptimal although they improved with age, and that family support strengthened medication adherence. It was recommended, among others, that community-based blood pressure screening and family-centred treatment support be institutionalised in primary health care facilities across the metropolis.