Managing hypertension in rural Gambia and Kenya: Protocol for a qualitative study exploring the experiences of patients, health care workers, and decision-makers.

This study will describe the current context for the management of hypertension from the perspective of those involved in seeking (patients), delivering (health care workers) and overseeing (decision-makers) health services in rural Gambia and Kenya. It will juxtapose what should be happening according to health system guidance and what is happening in practice, drawing on the experiences of study participants. It will outline the various barriers to and facilitators of hypertension management, as perceived by patients, providers, and decision-makers, and the conditions that would need to be in place for effective and sustainable implementation of a community-centred intervention to improve the management of hypertension in rural settings.