Abstract
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The main purpose of this study was to determine the clinical skill of the medical personnel on level of awareness of standard methods used during blood pressure measurement. BACKGROUND: Blood pressure measurement is one of the vital clinical proficiencies the hospital personnel must be equipped with. Results from different surveys highlight the importance of awareness amongst medical personnel in controlling blood pressure. DESIGN: Descriptive cross-sectional study. METHODS: Using standardized questionnaires devised by the researcher, data were collected from 302 participants working in healthcare centres in Jahrom. The extracted data were analysed using SPSS. RESULTS: Observations showed that 10-20% of the participants had wide knowledge of influential factors affecting blood pressure measurement. Moreover, there was a meaningful relation between holding higher degrees and accurate blood pressure measurement (p < .05). Nevertheless, besides the personnel holding lower degrees, those holding higher educational degrees also had dearth of knowledge of factors affecting blood pressure measurement. CONCLUSIONS: The overall findings of this study indicate that the knowledge among the hospital personnel in determining factors affecting blood pressure measurement was inadequate.