The effect of communication skills training to health care providers on improving the awareness of the elderly with hypertension under care in East Tehran Health Center

Today, the elderly population is increasing rapidly and their quality of life is also affected by various factors, including high blood pressure. Raising public awareness about the dangers of high blood pressure is of significant importance in reducing this disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of health care provider's communication skills training on improving the awareness of the elderly with hypertension.

The present study is a descriptive-analytical study. A total of 60 elderly people with hypertension are selected from 6 health centers of East Tehran Health Center that have health records in these centers for more than one year. The researcher completed a demographic information questionnaire for the elderly. For the program health caregivers, a training was held in the form of an interpersonal skills workshop based on the needs of caregivers for three days. Data were analyzed using SPSS-21 software.

51.7% of men and 48.8% of women in the age range of 60 to 90 years participated in the study. There was a significant relationship between communication skills training to health care providers before and after training (P <0.001). Health care provider's communication skills training has been effective in improving the awareness of the elderly with hypertension