Abstract
BackgroundEducation is vital to increasing knowledge, improving prevention and self-care practices for hypertension in older adults. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of a health education intervention in improving hypertension (HT) knowledge, prevention and self-care practices among retirees in Enugu State, South-east, Nigeria.MethodsIn this quasi-experimental study, we enrolled 400 participants in Enugu and Nsukka cities in Enugu State, south-east Nigeria. Participants were assigned to the treatment and control groups. Participants in the intervention/treatment group (T-group) received the intervention provided by public health experts and nurses and participants in the control group (C-group) received health talk without the intervention. Data collected at baseline (before intervention), 16 weeks (4th month) and follow-up (5th month) included demographic variables, knowledge about hypertension, prevention and self-care practices. We used paired samples t-test, Chi-square test and one-way ANOVA repeated measures for data analyses.ResultsThe mean age of the participants was 65.9 (± 8.9) years, the mean SBP and DBP were 136.5 (± 13.3) and 87.9 (± 9.1) respectively. More than half of the participants were (50.3%) were males, and the mean BMI was 23.9 (± 5.1) kg/m2. The paired comparison analysis showed that the mean HT knowledge score significantly increased in the T-group between baseline and 1 month (4th month) post-intervention compared to those in the C-group (P < 0.0001). Also, PA (P = 0.007), sleep pattern and quality (P = 0.003), substance use abstinence (P = 0.000), healthy diet (P = 0.000), and medication adherence (P = 0.000) improved significantly in the T-group compared to the control between baseline and 1 month after intervention. The repeated measures analyses showed statistically significant effects (between-groups analysis) for all outcomes with small to large effect sizes. Similarly, the repeated measures ANOVA analyses showed significant time-by-group interaction effects (within-groups) for all the outcomes with small to large effect sizes.ConclusionCommunity-based health education intervention targeted at older adults can increase HT knowledge, improve prevention and self-care practices of hypertension at the population level.
Highlights
Education is vital to increasing knowledge, improving prevention and self-care practices for hypertension in older adults
We evaluated the HT knowledge, prevention and self-care practices of retirees in the intervention and control groups at the 4th and 5th months after the intervention (Fig. 1)
The independent samples t-tests showed that no significant differences were found in the mean systolic blood pressure (SBP), Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP) and body mass index (BMI) between the intervention group and control group (Table 1)
Summary
Education is vital to increasing knowledge, improving prevention and self-care practices for hypertension in older adults. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of a health education intervention in improving hypertension (HT) knowledge, prevention and self-care practices among retirees in Enugu State, Southeast, Nigeria. Hypertension is a major modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and premature mortality globally [1,2,3]. Considerable evidence from observational studies has revealed strong, positive relationships between hypertension and risk of CVD and mortality [3, 4]. It is predominantly prevalent among diverse populations in developing nations where the health systems are weak [5]. The prevalence of hypertension is highest in the African Region at 46% of adults aged 25 years and above, while the lowest prevalence at 35% is found in the Americas [5]
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