Abstract
Hypertension is a serious global and South African public health problem. The high prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension is related to a patient’s lack of knowledge and healthy practices. The study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of hypertensive patients and their blood pressure control at a rural community health centre. This was a prospective cross-sectional study conducted on diagnosed cases of hypertension at the centre. Binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the factors for the control of hypertension. Two hundred and ninety-seven known hypertensive patients were recruited, the majority of which were female. Eighty-eight percent were older than 45 years, and almost all had a monthly income of less than R3000 (USD 190). More than half controlled their blood pressure. It was found that 46% had poor knowledge, 64% had good attitudes and 60% were practising positively regarding the control of hypertension. Hypertensive patients attending the centre had poor knowledge but good attitudes and practices towards hypertension. The study revealed an urgent need for improved health promotion and educational efforts to increase the knowledge of hypertension in rural communities and to address poverty as a major obstacle to healthy lifestyle choices.
Highlights
Hypertension (HPT) is a non-communicable disease considered as a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which leads to high morbidity and mortality [1]
HPT and all other chronic diseases are managed at the Kwadabeka Community Health Centre (KCHC) on a 24-hour basis and is run by trained and skilled Clinical Nurse Practitioners (CNP) and Medical Officers (MO)
Among these HPT patients, nearly half (49%) had one or more comorbidities, a majority had diabetes (40%), and 20% had HIV infection (all of them were on (ART) anti-retroviral treatment), and 16% had more than one comorbidity
Summary
Hypertension (HPT) is a non-communicable disease considered as a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which leads to high morbidity and mortality [1]. In 2000, it was estimated that 26.4% of the adult South African population had hypertension and that the total number of adults with hypertension was approximately 1 billion people worldwide. This number was predicted to increase to 30% by the year 2025 [2]. Stats SA (2016) revealed that 44.82% of South Africans (45.53% females and 43.73% males) are hypertensive among the adult population. This prevalence rate was higher than the rate estimated in 2012 (34% and 35% for men and women respectively) [3, 4]. The prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension can be partially explained by a patient’s lack of knowledge, attitude and healthy practices [7]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
