KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE OF SELF MANAGEMENT OF HYPERTENSION

ABSTRACT

Hypertension is the most prevalent non-communicable illness and the world's most significant contributor to cardiovascular disease. Treatment is infrequent and insufficient since many persons with hypertension are ignorant of the condition. Unfortunately, a lot of people who have had their hypertension diagnosed typically lack the necessary self-management skills. In addition to pharmacological treatment, all patients with hypertension are urged to practice self-management because it can lessen or even eliminate the need for medication. The aim of the study is to assess the knowledge and practice of self-management among patients with hypertension in University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin city, Edo state. The study was done using a correlational research design. 196 patients were used for the study. Out of the 196 participants, majority (60.2%) were female and 39.8% were males. Majority of the participants (43.88%) had fair level of knowledge of self-management, 37.76% had poor knowledge and 18.37% had a good knowledge. Majority of the participants (63.8%) had a moderate level of practice of self-management, 29.6% and 6.6% had high and poor level of self-management practice respectively. In conclusion, the result shows that majority of the respondents hada fair level of knowledge, less than half had poor level of knowledge while less than one third had good level of knowledge and majority of the respondents had a moderate level of practice, less than half had high level of practice, and less than one third had poor level of practice. Consequently, government and multinational agencies are urged to make concerted efforts to overcome the barriers to self-management of hypertension.