Abstract:
Introduction: Hypertension is a major risk factor
for cardiovascular and renal diseases. Accurate
measurement of blood pressure as per existing
guidelines is of paramount importance in the
management of hypertension.
Objective: To describe knowledge of current
guidelines regarding the accurate measurement of
blood pressure by an auscultatory method with a
manual sphygmomanometer among Intern Medical
Officers practising at the National Hospital of Sri
Lanka, Teaching Hospital, Kandy and Teaching
Hospital, Jaffna.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out
among newly qualified doctors, practicing at the
National Hospital of Sri Lanka, Teaching Hospital,
Kandy and Teaching Hospital, Jaffna. A self-
administered questionnaire was used to collect data.
Data were analyzed using SPSS 28.
Results: Of 79 newly qualified doctors who partici-
pated, the majority (64.6%) were males, and
mean age was 28.24 (range of 24-32) years. A
significant proportion (45.6%) answered less than
8 (8=median) questions correctly, out of 15 ques-
tions intended to assess knowledge regarding
accurate blood pressure measurement.
Conclusions: Knowledge regarding accurate
measurement of blood pressure among newly
qualified doctors was suboptimal. Junior doctors
should be motivated to improve their knowledge
and skills of blood pressure measurement through
regular in-service training.
