Abstract

RAMOS, Clara Lucília Botelho; JESUS, Lisete Amélia Ribeiro de; SOUTO, Ana Maria Teixeira Santos  and  SANTOS, Ana Luísa Couto Almeida. Knowledge about high blood pressure among hypertensive individuals in a family health unit. Rev. Enf. Ref. [online]. 2019, vol.serIV, n.23, pp.41-48. ISSN 0874-0283.  https://doi.org/10.12707/RIV19052.

Background: High blood pressure (HBP) is the dominant risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Basic health knowledge is the first dimension of health literacy (LS), which in Portugal presents a disturbing level, thus becoming a public health problem. Objective: To assess the level of knowledge about HBP among individuals with this condition and identify potentially related variables. Methodology: Cross-sectional descriptive study conducted in a non-probabilistic sample of 307 individuals selected by convenience from 3050 hypertensive patients registered in a family health unit (USF). For data collection, a questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge and attitudes of individuals with HBP regarding their condition. Results: Twenty-seven percent possess a very good level of knowledge. A statistically significant relationship was found between level of knowledge and age group (p = 0.002), education level (p = 0.000), and attitude toward treatment (p = 0.004); and between attitude toward treatment and control of disease (p = 0.050). Conclusion: Nurses should persist in empowering patients and intervene more closely in the oldest population.

Keywords : hypertension; knowledge; attitudes; health literacy.

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