PHYSICIANS' KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES AND PRACTICE ABOUT THE TREATMENT OF HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE ACCORDING TO THE SEVENTH REPORT OF THE JOINT NATIONAL COMMITTEE (JNC VII)

Abstract

Hypertension is one of the most frequently encountered chronic medical conditions in almost all societies. The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee (JNC-7), published in 2003 is an important tool on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure. The present study was designed to assess the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) of physicians towards JNC-7 hypertension guideline. In this cross sectional study, we used a predesigned questionnaire to evaluate knowledge, attitude and practice of a group of physicians with JNC-7 guideline. Two hundred physicians and residents in two different cities (Zabol and Mashhad) participated in this study. The majority of our study population had poor knowledge about 6 key concepts of JNC- 7 guideline. General practitioners had the lowest knowledge in comparison to specialist and residency students (P: 0.014). Most of participants performed best at choosing an initial agent for the treatment of hypertensive patients and worst at identifying appropriate disease specific blood pressure lowering goals. Most of study population refer to American Heart Association (AHA) guideline as the most reliable and useful guideline in hypertension management. Considering the importance of evidence based medicine and its benefits, we suggest revision of the teaching curricula in medical schools regarding evidence based guidelines and regular Continuous Medical Education programs after graduation as potential solutions.