The effect of self-management program on blood pressure control in hypertensive patients at risk for stroke

Abstract

Hypertension is an internationally common disease and inadequate control of blood pressure and poor follow-up is associated with a significant risk of stroke and avoidable vascular deaths. The purpose of this research was to examine the effect of self-management program on blood pressure control in hypertensive patients at risk for stroke. This study was randomized controlled trial two groups pretest and posttest research design. The sample, 100 hypertensive patients at risk for stroke were randomly assigned to the experimental or control group using systemic randomization consisted of 50 participants in each group. The participants in the control group received usual care, whereas the participants in the experimental group received the self management program together with usual care within 12 weeks. The program was developed based on the self-management model of Kanfer and Goelick (1991). The self-management program emphasized patients’ health behavior management including DASH diet management, exercise management, and medication taking management, and existing knowledge. The experimental group underwent 4 phases: 1) the problem and needs assessment, 2) the preparation phase, 3) the practice phase, and 4) the evaluation phase. Blood pressure was measured on both experimental and control groups at baseline and the 3rdmonth, analyzed by independent t-test and paired t-test and X2 were used for data analysis. The result revealed that means of SBP and DBP of the experimental group at posttest were significantly lower than the pretest and the control group (p<.05). The findings indicated that the self-management program effectively improved the blood pressure control. Therefore, implementing this program at general hospital is recommended.