On-demand mobile training with health workers in Nigeria
Health care workers play a critical role in improving the diagnosis and treatment of high blood pressure. A new pilot study published in BMC Health Services Research evaluates a self-paced, case-based, mobile-optimized online training to diagnose and manage hypertension among health workers in Nigeria. On-demand mobile digital hypertension training effectively increases knowledge of hypertension management. […]
Point of care testing in Peru shows promise for non-communicable diseases
Point of care testing devices are easy to use, can provide quick and accurate results within minutes, and can be used in many different settings, including rural or remote. A new study explored ways to increase point-of-care testing use for non-communicable diseases, given its many advantages, utilizing co-creation workshops attended by community members, primary healthcare […]
Treatment protocols control high blood pressure at scale in India
A new research paper investigated the effectiveness of various medication protocols in Punjab and Maharashtra, India to increase control rates among patients with hypertension. The researchers found that simple drug- and dose-specific protocols help improve hypertension treatment in the primary care setting, especially when starting with a single low-cost drug such as amlodipine 5mg and escalating with the same or another […]
How much does it cost to treat high blood pressure?
Studies in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Mexico, Thailand and the Philippines show that implementing the WHO HEARTS package is an affordable way to improve blood pressure control and save lives.
Hypertension can be the next global health win
Hypertension is the leading cause of death worldwide, killing more than 10 million people each year, but it remains neglected. In an essay in the Washington Post, Dr. Tom Frieden calls attention to the need for increased focus and funding to prevent and treat the deadly condition.
Beating the world’s leading killer with Simple solutions
In just a few short years, the Bangladesh Hypertension Control Initiative has achieved impressive blood pressure control rates, and our Simple app has played an important role in this progress. Learn more about how data from Simple has helped our partners– the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s Non-Communicable Disease Control Program and the National […]
Việt Nam’s fight against a silent killer
WHO’s new Global Hypertension report highlights the progress Việt Nam has made against hypertension, but there is more to do, write Angela Pratt, WHO Representative, Vietnam, and our Senior Vice President for Cardiovascular Health Renu Garg.
Tracking medications, the Simple way
The new update to the Simple app provides for better tracking of medications by allowing facilities to input the volume of each medication they have on-hand and their expiration dates on a monthly basis. This helps to reduce stock-outs and to increase the number of patients who have access to the medications they need, when […]
Putting hypertension courses in the palm of health workers’ hands in Nigeria
We partnered with Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Health and National Primary Health Care Development Agency to pilot a self-paced digital hypertension management course that doctors, nurses and community health workers completed on their own smart phones. The course– which was found to be effective and rated highly by participants– is a potential lower-cost alternative to […]
“Keep it Simple” is EDITORS’ CHOICE APRIL 2023 at BMJ HCI
Read our Simple team‘s paper on designing a user-centered digital information system to support chronic disease management in low- and middle-income countries, which was selected as Editor’s Choice for April 2023 by BMJ Health & Care Informatics.