KNOWLEDGE ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE OF ELDERLY WOMEN TOWARDS MANAGEMENT AND PREVENTION OF HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
- Project Research
- 1-5 Chapters
- Quantitative
- Chi-Square
- Abstract : Available
- Table of Content: Available
- Reference Style: APA
- Recommended for : Student Researchers
- NGN 5000
Background of the study
High blood pressure is referred to as hypertension in medical terminology. When someone has hypertension, their systolic blood pressure (SBP) is more than 140 millimeters mercury (mm Hg), and their diastolic blood pressure (DBP) is greater than 90 millimeters mercury (mm Hg), according to the American Heart Association (Kofi, 2015). Individuals' hypertension-related knowledge and actions have a critical role in managing hypertension and preventing the development of long-term consequences. People with hypertension must be equipped with the knowledge they need to cope with themselves, to be able to identify their illness, to analyze risk factors, and to recognize the need of long-term medication administration (Malik, Yoshida, Erkin, Salim, & Hamajima, 2016).
Patients' knowledge and attitudes have an impact on the care of their illnesses, and increasing patient knowledge is beneficial. It has been shown to improve adherence to therapy in illnesses such as hypertension and hyperlipidemia. The information and attitude of the patients may have an influence on their condition, blood pressure management, morbidity rate, and mortality rate, among other things (Jimoh et al., 2017). Aside from that, knowledge is an important factor of behavior change and healthy lifestyle behaviors in the context of high blood pressure. Controlling hypertension requires consideration of a variety of social, economic, and environmental issues. Higher levels of information gained via health education and health promotion have a significant impact on lifestyle changes in the context of hypertension. As a result, individuals should choose behaviors or lifestyles that will help them maintain an optimum level of health (Zungu & Djumbe, 2019). Furthermore, it is thought that many individuals are unaware of the dangers of high blood pressure and how to prevent it. Inadequate understanding may result in severe patient concern and the incorrect use of medical care. If hypertension is allowed to go uncontrolled, particularly in rural areas where the majority of the population is illiterate, it will increase the incidence of stroke, heart failure, glaucoma, and renal failure, among other diseases.
Osuala (2017,). Because of illiteracy, the majority of rural people lack understanding about hypertension, have a negative attitude about it, and practice it improperly. The blood pressure and attitude toward hypertension prevention in the neighborhood, as well as the people's lifestyle habits, are not known at this time. Eunice Osuala (2017,). Patients with a good understanding of their condition, on the other hand, are more likely to conduct home blood pressure monitoring, which helps them stick to their prescribed medications and maintain proper blood pressure management. Individuals must have a thorough understanding of hypertension, as well as the possible health hazards associated with the illness, in order to successfully improve their quality of life (Malik et al., 2016).
Furthermore, hypertension may be divided into two categories. Primary hypertension and secondary hypertension are the terms used to describe these conditions. Ninety-five percent of the population is affected by primary hypertension, which is also known as basic hypertension. Secondary hypertension is a kind of high blood pressure that is caused by another medical problem and is less prevalent. Hypertension that is not managed might result in death (Kofi, 2015). Although the causes of hypertension are not mentioned, variables such as age, excessive salt intake, poor potassium intake, a sedentary lifestyle, concern and stress have all been identified as contributing to hypertension in the past (Kofi, 2015).
The purpose of this research was to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practice of older women in the treatment and prevention of high blood pressure as well as other chronic diseases. Hypertension has emerged as a significant concern in a number of emerging nations as the epidemiological shift from transmittable to non-transferable chronic illnesses has occurred (Ahmad and Ahmad, 2015). According to the World Health Organization (WHO) (2019), the number of deaths due to non-transmittable illnesses, such as hypertension, would increase by seventeen percent over the next decade, with the highest increase occurring in the African region (27 percent) (Kofi, 2015).
