Hypertension crisis among Haitian: Need global attention

2^nd International Conference on Nursing & Healthcare

November 17-19, 2014 DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Chicago-North Shore Conference Center, USA

Esther O Park

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Nurs Care

Abstract :

Purpose statement: The purpose of this study is to inform the aspects of hypertension crisis developed in Haiti and thus to draw appropriate attention given to rural areas of Haiti and Haitian. Methodology: This is a descriptive, comparative, and correlational study. 277 male/female Haitians who were older than 18 years old and lived in rural areas were included into sample. It was a convenience sampling. The sample was collected in four different rural areas in Haiti from Jan 1 thru Jan 9th, 2014. The subjects who voluntarily walked into a free health clinic were screened with blood pressure (both systolic and diastolic blood pressure), pulse pressure, and heart rate. Descriptive analyses and t-test were used to achieve the study objectives. Results: 83% of the total sample showed either pre-hypertensive or moderate to severe hypertensive condition. 65% of them were having abnormal Pulse Pressure (PP>50) and 14% of the sample showed tachycardia (HR >100). Hypertensive condition was significantly differed by gender and village. Conclusion: The statistics of hypertension in Haiti is significant and the majority of study subjects have abnormal pulse pressure, which will be a significant risk factor of coronary artery disease in the near future among this population. In addition, more investigation should be conducted for the unknown reason of tachycardic condition. Overall, proper global attention should be given to this minority country and the people.

Biography :

Esther O Park has completed her PhD in 2012 from College of Nursing, University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC). She serves an Assistant Professor in the Nursing department at NJCU. The target population in her ongoing research is cardiac caregivers along with population in minority countries where medical service is inaccessible. Her current grant proposal is under review from two funding agencies. She, as a novice researcher, has published 5 papers and has attended and presented at many national/international conferences. She actively serves as a peer reviewer in nursing journals.