Pediatric Hypertension: Parental Perception and Knowledge

Abstract

The prevalence of hypertension (HTN) among youngsters has increased recently. Often, it is underrecognized owing to a lack of routine blood pressure measurement in many health centers, partly due to the unavailability of instruments and possibly because of this perception that it is not the foremost problem in children. There is less information about the parental perception of childhood HTN from Bangladesh. We aimed to conduct this survey among parents to see the perception and knowledge about this childhood HTN, which can be served as a baseline for future reference. This cross-sectional study was carried out in Dr. MR Khan Shishu Hospital and ICH from April 2021 to September 2021 over 6 months. Parents who visited our hospital, both in outpatient and inpatient, for their children aged (3 years–17 years) were included in this study. Parents who did not give permission were excluded. Purposive sampling was done during the study period. Parents were interviewed with a structured questionnaire. Parents' educational status and the idea about HTN in children were recorded. The data were analyzed and expressed as frequency and percentage. A total of 352 respondents were interviewed with a mean age of 28 ± 11 years. Among these respondents, 187 (53.2%) were male, and 165 (46.8%) were female. In this study, most of the participant parents are literate; only a negligible proportion, 5.6%, are illiterate. Eighty-nine percent of participants know high blood pressure is HTN and 83.5% know HTN can be detected by measuring BP. Among the participants, 83% think children do not develop HTN, and only 17% responded that children could develop HTN. This study offers insight into parents' lack of awareness of childhood HTN. Hence, proper knowledge and understanding of pediatric HTN play a crucial role in early detection and management.