Health Disparities of HIV and Hypertension Comorbidity Among Public Health Facility Users Living With HIV in Rural South Africa: A Cross‐Sectional Study

We estimated the prevalence of hypertension and analysed associated health disparities among people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) at selected public health facilities in a rural South African province, using a cross‐sectional study. Data were collected from a random sample of 100 adults with documented diagnoses of HIV. The most common condition was hypertension (21%), followed by tuberculosis and diabetes mellitus (9%, respectively) and cardiovascular diseases (4%). Significant healthcare access disparities were observed in form of long distance to the health facility ( >10 km), long waiting times ( > 2 h) and alarming levels of negative healthcare worker attitude and patient service dissatisfaction. A paradigm shift is long overdue that leverages existing scientific evidence, acknowledging HIV–non‐communicable disease (NCD) multi‐morbidity as a confirmed reality. This shift should prioritise implementation science and health system capacity strengthening to effectively address the complexities of HIV–NCD multi‐morbidity.