Zahedan University of Medical Sciences

Five minutes of Health

5 minutes of Health: A significant contribution made by an academic member of Zahedan Farhangian University to the "National Blood Pressure Control Campaign"

Report from: ZAUMS Non-Communicable Diseases Control Department

Published on: 29 May 2019

Being healthy and safe takes commitment, but it doesn’t have to be time-consuming. Given the fact that promotion of health literacy and self-care is of great importance, the Vice Chancellery for Health, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, has taken an initiative dabbed "5 Minutes of Health" to help protect the health and safety of students by improving their knowledge on health subjects, with the participation of faculty members working the universities in Sistan & Balouchestan Province. In this project it takes the faculty members five minutes to convey the specifically prepared health messages to the students at the start of their classes.

The faculty members, who join the activity, will be taking just a few of the 1440 minutes in a day, which is worth having a safer and healthier life for their students, and themselves, as well.

Here is a story from Dr. Jamshid Jalilvand, an academic member in Zahedan Farhangian University who has joined the project and has contributed to the "National Blood Pressure Control Campaign". This is what he posted about his experience on Instagram:

"When I heard 15 million people in Iran have high blood pressure.

My job was to contribute to the "National Blood Pressure Control Campaign".

Thanks to Dr. Tabatabae, Vice Chancellor for Health, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences and the Head of the Provincial Health Center and his colleagues, who gave me the "5 Minutes of Health" materials related to the campaign including the Powerpoint slides, I managed to train and inform more than 400 people.

I hope that with supporting each other and informing the community members, we do our share in helping our compatriots.

The National High Blood Pressure Control Campaign has been launched by the Ministry of Health. The first stage of the campaign that was started on May 27 aimed at raising awareness and it will continue towards the end of the event. The second stage of blood pressure screening will be started on June 7^th to July 6^th.

Everyone can participate in the campaign by visiting the health centers and health posts, to have their blood pressure checked, or if you already know your blood pressure numbers you may log in on the following website to register in the campaign:

salamat.gov.ir

In Iran, 15 million people have blood pressure

Only 60% of them are aware of their condition

and only 40% are receiving medications for high blood pressure.

Unfortunately, only 19% of these people have managed to control their blood pressure with medication.

High blood pressure cannot be detected with a single measurement and it should be investigated according to a standard procedures.

I would share all the "5 minutes of Health" training materials with those who are interested, and I have posted a video on how to control your high blood pressure on this webpage.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bxz7r_THWrK_RjLTh1Z7B3SfNNTCJ-cSc_GswY0/?igshid=1p6vm167dosqh