KNOWLEDGE OF BLOOD-PRESSURE MEASUREMENT AMONG A TEACHING HOSPITAL STAFF IN A DEVELOPING-NATION

Hypertension is a common and potentially serious disease and accurate measurement of blood pressure (BP) is important for its diagnosis and management. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of hospi tal staff on the basic principles of BP measurement. Consultants, juni or doctors and nurses in a large teaching hospital in southern Saudi A rabia were requested to answer a questionnaire about the most importan t aspects pertaining to BP measurement. The overall response rate was about 70%. There was a wide diversity of responses reflecting a poor k nowledge of some of the basic techniques of BP measurement, This inclu ded inconsistencies regarding the knowledge of cuff size, recording of diastolic BP, position of the arm and rate for deflating the cuff. Ov erall, 60% of the respondents had insufficient knowledge. Inaccurate B P measurement can seriously affect the diagnosis and management of the patient with this common disease. Hospital staff need to improve thei r knowledge about BP measurement, and teaching programmes about BP mea surement should be developed as part of continuing education.