Effect of teaching health-promoting behaviors on self-care behaviors in people with hypertension

Aim. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of teaching health-promoting behaviors on self-care behaviors in people with hypertension.
Background. Hypertension is one of the chronic diseases that causes serious complications on the organs of the body and requires self-care behaviors to be managed and controlled. Education increases self-care capacity in these patients and may help reducing complications and promote disease control.
Method. In this quasi-experimental study, 106 patients who referred to the clinic of Shahid Rahimi Hospital in Khorramabad, affiliated to Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, were recruited based on inclusion criteria and allocated to experimental (n=53) and control group (n=53). The experimental group received three training sessions of health-promoting behaviors in three consecutive weeks. The control group received only the routine treatments. Data were collected using a demographic form and self-care behaviors questionnaire, before and one month after intervention. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 22 using descriptive and inferential statistics.
Findings. The groups did not differ significantly in terms of demographic variables and disease characteristics. Before intervention, the mean score of self-care in the control and experimental group were 8.33±1.79 and 9.7 ±2.41, respectively, and there was a statistically significant difference between the groups (P=0.002). After intervention, the mean score of self-care in the control and experimental group were respectively reported as 8.43±1.84 and 14.46±2.13. Analysis of covariance showed that after intervention, the mean score of self-care in experimental group was significantly higher than that of control group (P≤0.0001).
Conclusion. Education improved self-care in people with hypertension. Providing education for people with hypertension can be effective in promoting their self-care behaviors.