Assessment of Quality of Care Provided to Hypertensive Patients in Primary Health Care Units in Ismailia City

Background: Several studies examined the link between care processes and controlled hypertension (HTN). However, these studies may not serve as the best preface to the current state of quality of care in primary health care (PHC). Previous analyses often comprised regional rather than national data, probably restrict the generalizability of the results. Furthermore, no such researches were accomplished in Egypt. Objective: to assess the quality of care provided to hypertensive patients at PHC units in Ismailia city. Method: Seventy-two hypertensive patients regularly follow-up at PHC for >6 months were recruited into the study. Data was collected from (1) Care Performance measures, (2) Quality of Care indicators, (3) Patients’ Satisfaction (patient’s perspective about quality of care) by Arabic version of Client Perception of Coordination Questionnaire (CPCQ), and (4) Patients’ characteristics. Results: The frequency of inadequate care performance was 56.9%. Only 5.6% of our patients were under health insurance coverage. The most common deficient indicator for quality of care was performing lifestyle modification (5.6%). Approximately 60% of the patients had uncontrolled HTN and 59.7% of the cases had positive perception about the care. The most common problems facing the patients were waiting too long till receiving the services (83.3%) and 23.6% of the studied patients didn’t have any caregiver. Significant factors affecting care performance were health insurance coverage, degree of caregiver involvement and quality of care adequacy. Conclusion: Quality of care provided to hypertensive patients at the PHC in Ismailia City was inadequate.