for immediate release

Contact: Candice Douglass
(206) 221-8429
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candiced@u.washington.edu 

Global Health Nursing Faculty Receives NIH Grant for Improving Hypertension Treatment in Mozambique

June 14, 2019 Seattle—The University of Washington School of Nursing announced that Sarah Gimbel, RN, PhD, MPH, an Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Child Nursing, and co-director of the UW Center for Global Health Nursing received a $3.37 million National Institutes of Health grant to improve the clinic-level treatment of hypertension in Mozambique, specifically in people infected with HIV.

“We are very excited about the opportunity the funds from this grant will mean to help the hundreds of thousands of individuals living with HIV and hypertension in Mozambique. Improving systems in health care is something that is often overlooked, but it’s critical to successful health care delivery. Interventions and treatments only work when the patients access them,” stated Azita Emami, PhD, MSN, BSN, RN, FAAN, and the Robert G. and Jean A. Reid Executive Dean of the UW School of Nursing.

“Nearly 40% of adults in Mozambique have hypertension, yet less than 15% of those are aware of their condition, and less than 50% are in treatment. As a result of this leaky cascade only 3% have their condition controlled. So, since there is already an established health infrastructure for treating HIV in Mozambique, this is a good starting point for standardizing and improving hypertension treatment in the country,” stated Gimbel who is principal investigator of the study.

The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of using a systems analysis and improvement approach to optimize hypertension care delivery for people living with HIV/AIDS. Bringing together tools from systems engineering and continuous quality improvement, frontline health workers are able to step back and see their health care delivery system more holistically, and more readily identify bottlenecks to address through quality improvement.

Gimbel is implementing this project in collaboration with the Mozambican National Institute of Health and Ministry of Health. The outcomes generated by the study will include data on effectiveness, implementation, and costs to help guide future Ministry of Health activities to scale improved hypertension treatment delivery for people living with HIV/AIDS as well as the general population.

 

About the UW Center for Global Health Nursing

The UW School of Nursing Center for Global Health Nursing works to promote nursing research and training to build capacity for appropriate and sustainable improvements in health and healthcare through innovative nursing science, across differing cultural contexts, both locally and abroad. The center harnesses the existing expertise, experience, and enthusiasm of the UW School of Nursing faculty and students in partnership with local, national and global nursing organizations and academic institutions.

The three aims of the center are to promote and advocate for the role of nursing in global health, promote nursing research in global health and expand global to local educational opportunities for nursing students.

 

About the School of Nursing

Celebrating 100 years in nursing education and research, the University of Washington’s School of Nursing is consistently a top-ranked nursing school, according to U.S. News & World Report. Ranked No. 3 in research funding from the National Institutes of Health, the UW School of Nursing is a national and international leader in improving the health and well-being of individuals, families and communities. The school addresses society’s most pressing challenges in health care through innovative teaching, award winning research and community service. For more information, visit www.nursing.uw.edu.

 

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