About the organisation
Vision
Our vision is to improve the health in children and adolescents of South Africa.
Mission
Our mission is to include all relevant stakeholders to develop clinical practice guidelines for the management of hypertension in the children of South Africa and to guide health education on primary prevention at community level.
How it all started...
The Childhood Hypertension Consortium of South Africa (CHCSA) was established in March 2021 and registered as a non-profit organisation on 3 August 2021. The CHCSA consists of experts in the field of pediatric hypertension, representing all provinces in the country with a primary focus on cardiovascular health in children and adolescents in South Africa.
The CHCSA aims to drive policy change in healthcare for children and adolescents in South Africa and contribute to ongoing community engagement and outreach to promote health education among parents, teachers and children.
The CHCSA will be developing ongoing projects in South Africa aimed at improving hypertension care and management among the childhood and adolescent populations of the country and to develop the first clinical practice guidelines for the management of hypertension in paediatrics.
The CHCSA is committed to:
form a dedicated multidisciplinary group of experts with a special interest on hypertension in children and adolescents in South Africa.
establish a research strategy for the collection of nationally representative blood pressure and body composition data.
guide the process in developing South African specific normative reference values for blood pressure and body composition independent of international standards and guidelines.
collaborate with relevant societies and associations and any other interested groups for improving and expanding on the current guidelines and standards for paediatric hypertension care and primary prevention in South Africa.
drive validation studies for paediatric blood pressure devices in South Africa and ensure proper educational tools for nurses, clinicians and research scientists in blood pressure measurement by auscultation and oscillometry.
The CHCSA values inclusiveness, transparency, transformation and ethic of care.