KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE OF HYPERTENSION MANAGEMENT AMONG HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS ATTENDING GENERAL HOSPITAL IN TARABA STATE, NIGERIA

The study assessed the knowledge, attitude and practice of hypertension management among hypertensive patients attending general hospitals in Taraba State, Nigeria. To achieve this purpose, descriptive survey research design was used. The population for this study was twelve thousand, three hundred and twenty (12, 320) hypertensive patients attending general hospitals in Taraba State. The sample size of 373 was selected using multistage sampling procedures of stratified, simple random, proportionate and convenience. The instrument for data collection was structured questionnaire developed by the researcher and it was validated by three (3) experts in the Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. The Descriptive statistics of frequency and simple percentages were used to analyze the demographic characteristics of the respondents. Inferential statistics of one-sampled t-test and multiple regression analysis were used to test the stated hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The result revealed that the knowledge of hypertension management among hypertensive patients attending general hospitals in Taraba State is significant (t = 145.504; p = 0.000), the practice of hypertension management among hypertensive patients attending general hospitals in Taraba State is not significant (t = 1.721; p = 0.14) at (p < 0.05). Based on the results, the study concluded that the hypertensive patients attending general hospitals in Taraba State have knowledge of hypertension management; have negative practice of hypertension management. Based on the conclusion, the study recommends among others the need for healthcare providers and health educators to take steps aimed at improving patient attitudes, which can significantly impact adherence to hypertension management and overall health and the need for the hypertensive patients to be educated by health educators about lifestyle modifications such as a healthy diet, regular exercise, reducing salt intake, avoiding alcohol and tobacco, and maintaining a healthy weight.