vegetables abundantly is bigger among those with
diagnosed hypertension. Individuals with diagnosed
hypertension are more likely to quit smoking and
those at a younger age at diagnosis tended to work out
regularly (Kim & Andrade, 2019).
Some community health centers (Puskesmas) in
Kalimantan have area coverage that is too vast,
causing some residents to live too far from the closest
Puskesmas (Nisa et al., 2017). That may explain why
a significant proportion of the population neglect to
frequently check their health, particularly their blood
pressure. In communities with these features of geo-
locality, programs that promote early identification
and treatment of hypertension are required to
recognize and decrease the number of untreated
patients.
Better tracking of blood pressure levels, raising
awareness of the benefit of hypertension control, and
promoting healthy behavioral modification can all
improve health outcomes (Kim & Andrade, 2019).
This can be accomplished by encouraging routine
visits to medical care providers, providing
information about recommended lifestyle choices,
and better health monitoring.
Given the high prevalence of undiagnosed
hypertension, governments in Kalimantan need to
reinforce the prevention and control of high blood
pressure in the community, especially by increasing
the coverage of early detection since it can promote
public health (Choo et al., 2014). For Kalimantan, it
is recommended to prioritize the screening to those
who are young adults, living in a rural area, have low
educational levels, and are informal/agricultural
workers; since undiagnosed hypertension is more
common among those populations. In the meantime,
efforts to increase fruit and vegetable intake are also
suggested because undiagnosed hypertension is more
common among those with low consumption of these
food groups.
The main limitation of this study is being
observational and cross-sectional due to the nature of
Riskesdas data, thus precluding causal inferences.
The self-reported data in Riskesdas is also another
weakness of this study, where they are subject to bias
due to under-reporting and measurement error.
Nevertheless, this study provides some insights that
can be considered in organizing public health
attempts to reduce hypertension cases in Kalimantan.
5 CONCLUSIONS
These findings imply that a remarkable proportion of
hypertension cases in Kalimantan are undiagnosed.
The lack of awareness about blood pressure status
suggests that there should be more efforts to
strengthen for detecting undiagnosed hypertension.
Such screening should be prioritized for those more
vulnerable to undiagnosed hypertension, such as
young adults and rural residents. Our results also
indicate that without knowing their hypertension
status, people might less likely to consume sufficient
amounts of fruits and vegetables. Having a proper
diagnosis of hypertension may not only help people
to receive treatment but also control their blood
pressure by adopting a healthy lifestyle.
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