Health knowledge, attitudes and practices of hypertensive patients

Abstract

Objective: Give an account of the health knowledge, attitudes and practices adopted by hypertensive patients in Florencia in terms of their disease and therapeutic regimen. Method: A descriptive, transversal and quantitative study. The sample consisted of 250 patients with high blood pressure, selected using systematic probability sampling. Results: 80% of patients were female, with four women studied for every man. The average age was 64. 71.86% of patients were familiar with the disease and the therapeutic regimen; 69.64% of the hypertensive patients showed a positive attitude and 60.95% demonstrated good practices in managing high blood pressure and the therapeutic regimen. Conclusions: A high percentage of hypertensive patients were familiar with the disease and the therapeutic regimen, primarily with regard to diet, complications and the medication regimen. Patients showed a positive attitude towards the disease and the therapeutic regimen, recognising that the disease is a serious threat to health and that the care provided by health care professionals has a positive effect. As for the practices of the patients, it was found that positive practices were shown principally by attending follow-up appointments and identifying warning signs and it was considered that the information provided by the health care professionals was sufficient in order to understand their treatment. The patients also used home remedies in order to manage high blood pressure.