{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T06:07:05Z","timestamp":1788934025487,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":53,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788912000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Hypertension remains a leading contributor to morbidity and mortality in Nigeria, where health system resources are constrained. Faith institutions wield considerable community influence and have supported previous health initiatives; however, their potential role in hypertension prevention and management remains critically understudied. This study explored the perspectives of faith-institution leaders in Lagos on health, hypertension, and the feasibility of faith-based interventions.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We purposively sampled eight diverse faith leaders representing Sunni Islam, Pentecostal Christianity, African Traditional Religion, Ahmadiyya Islam, Judaism, and Catholicism in Lagos. Data were collected via remote semi-structured interviews and analysed using a purely inductive thematic analysis approach, involving open line-by-line coding, constant comparison of codes to refine categories, and iterative derivation of descriptive and analytical themes. Reporting adheres to the COREQ checklist.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Four overarching themes emerged: (1) health system deficiencies\u2014encompassing inadequate infrastructure, socioeconomic pressures, and waning public trust\u2014were perceived as a fundamental impediment to hypertension control; (2) faith leaders observed widespread poor hypertension knowledge and poverty-driven health-seeking behaviors leading to preventable deaths; (3) their institutions, although underutilized, possess trusted physical spaces and community networks suitable for health promotion; and (4) there was strong willingness among leaders to collaborate with government and NGOs to deliver congregation-tailored screening, education, and referral interventions.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Faith leaders in Lagos demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of the societal determinants of hypertension and express clear willingness to act as health assets. Their institutions represent a promising, yet currently underexploited, platform for integrating community-based NCD prevention into urban health systems. These findings offer transferable insights for leveraging faith-based networks in low-resource settings, contributing to the broader agenda of strengthening primary healthcare access (SDG 3.8) and reducing NCD burden in sub-Saharan Africa. To address the hypertension epidemic in Lagos, Nigeria, and beyond, leveraging faith institutions\u2019 unique influence, authority and assets requires recognising leaders\u2019 conditional willingness as a rational defence of their legitimacy\u2014necessitating genuine, reciprocal partnerships that respect them as equal partners, not convenient access points.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1925205","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T05:43:32Z","timestamp":1788932612000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The perspectives of Lagos faith-institution leaders on health, hypertension, and faith-based hypertension interventions: a qualitative interview study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Abayomi","family":"Sanusi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Sciences, University of York","place":["York, United Kingdom"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Helen","family":"Elsey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Sciences, University of York","place":["York, United Kingdom"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Su","family":"Golder","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Sciences, University of York","place":["York, United Kingdom"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Olamide","family":"Todowede","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Health Services Management Centre, University of Birmingham","place":["Birmingham, United Kingdom"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"963","DOI":"10.1111\/jch.14220","article-title":"Prevalence, awareness, 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