Evidence mapPaperPMID 40788924Full record

ArticlePloS one2025

Enhancing knowledge of hypertension among general practitioners in Pakistan through a Train-The-Trainer initiative.

Tariq Ashraf, Rafat Sultana, Musa Karim, Kanwal Fatima Aamir, Mustajab Mujtaba, Shoukat Memon, Deedar Hussain Gajju, Abdul Qadir Bhutto, Umair Arif, Hassan Irshad Bajwa and 24 more

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Article in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

34 authors.

Tariq AshrafKarachi Institute of Heart Disease (KIHD), Karachi, Pakistan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6680-1017
Rafat SultanaKarachi Institute of Heart Disease (KIHD), Karachi, Pakistan.
Musa KarimNational Institute of Cardiovascular Disease (NICVD), Karachi, Pakistan.
Kanwal Fatima AamirNational Institute of Cardiovascular Disease (NICVD), Karachi, Pakistan.
Mustajab MujtabaCivil Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
Shoukat MemonRed Crescent Institute of Cardiology, Karachi, Pakistan.
Deedar Hussain GajjuMohammad Medical College, Mirpurkhas, Pakistan.
Abdul Qadir BhuttoGambat Institute of Medical Science, Gambat, Pakistan.
Umair ArifBahawal Victoria Hospital, Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
Hassan Irshad BajwaTHQ Hospital, Chichawatni, Pakistan.
Naveed ShehzadCentral Park Teaching Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan.
Haji Maqsood MehmoodChaudhary Hospital, Gujranwala, Pakistan.
Ijaz Ul HassanMujahid Hospital, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
Syed Gulzar Ul HassanDHQ Hospital, Sargodha, Pakistan.
Waheed AshrafAllama Iqbal Memorial Teaching Hospital, Sialkot, Pakistan.
Muhammad SaleemJhelum Cardiac Centre, Jhelum, Pakistan.
Naeem TariqCardiac Hospital, Muzaffarabad, Pakistan.
Muhammad Niaz KhanHayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar, Pakistan.
Khalid Naseem KhanKhalifa Gul Nawaz Hospital, Bannu, Pakistan.
Muhammad Farooq Saeed KhawajaWapda Hospital, Quetta, Pakistan.
Naveed HussainDHQ Hospital, Bhimber, Pakistan.
Shahid Hussain MemonLiaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro, Pakistan.
Imran Ahmed KazmiDHQ Hospital, Abbottabad, Pakistan.
Muhamamd Shahzad AzeemMayo Hospital/Bajwa Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan.
Muhammad Akram AsiTHQ Hospital, Chichawatni, Pakistan.
Khalid Razaq MalikSheikh Zayed Hospital, Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan.
Shahzad AslamNiazi Medical College, Sargodha, Pakistan.
Muhammad Amir SohailJinnah Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan.
Arshad Ali ShahCivil Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
Maha Zainab Zia YaqubUniversity of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States of America.
Syed KhubaibSaifee Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
Hasan ImamAtia Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
Ghulam FareedPeoples University of Medical and Health Sciences, Nawabshah, Pakistan.
Rehan RiazFaisalabad Institute of Cardiology, Faisalabad, Pakistan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHypertension (HTN) affects over a billion people worldwide, with most cases in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where awareness and control remain low. In Pakistan, general practitioners (GPs) are usually the initial contact for hypertensive patients. Through the Train the Trainer (TTT) initiative, a group of consultant cardiologists were trained as master trainers to conduct training for GPs across Pakistan. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of the TTT initiative regarding knowledge of GPs about the diagnosis and management of HTN.

methodsThis study included 540 GPs from all over Pakistan. Participants attended HTN training workshops run by Master Trainers under the TTT model and completed a structured online questionnaire in relation to knowledge of HTN before and 1-3 months after training. Knowledge scores were derived from correct responses for 19 items.

resultsPre-training GPs demonstrated low HTN knowledge scores with a median of 26.3 [IQR: 15.8-36.8] and 92% scoring less than 50. In contrast, post-training medians increased significantly to 42.1 [IQR: 31.6-63.2], with 38.5% of GPs achieving moderate or high knowledge scores ≥50 (p < 0.001). Overall, gains were observed across all demographic groups; significant improvement was observed among female and younger GPs.

conclusionsThe TTT initiative effectively improved knowledge in both the diagnosis and management of hypertension among GPs, thus standing to potentially improve the current gaps in HTN care in many LMICs through similar models. Further studies are warranted to document the long-term clinical impact of this kind of training on patient outcomes and hypertension control.

Indexed as

General PractitionersHealth Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeHypertensionAdultClinical CompetenceEducation, Medical, ContinuingFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPakistanSurveys and Questionnaires

Identifiers

PMID40788924
PMCPMC12338800

What Socratic holds

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.