Sahel Medical Journal (Jan 2017)
Knowledge, attitude, and adherence to nonpharmacological therapy among patients with hypertension and diabetes attending the hypertension and diabetes clinics at Tertiary Hospitals in Kano, Nigeria
Abstract
Background: Hypertension and diabetes are among the leading noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in the world. The etiology and prognosis of these diseases are markedly influenced by environmental stress and lifestyle choices. Prevention and effective control of these conditions largely depend on patients' cooperation and commitment to lifestyle modification. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out among 51 patients with hypertension only, 27 patients with diabetes only, and 27 patients with both hypertension and diabetes attending specialist clinics at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital and Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital both in Kano, using a semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire after selection of patients by systematic sampling. The data were analyzed with Minitab statistical software version 12 (Minitab Inc. Pennsylvania, US), qualitative and quantitative variables were summarized using percentages and means, respectively, while associations between categorical variables were assessed using Chi-squared test at a significance level of ≤0.05. Results: About 86.3% of the patients with hypertension only, 88.9% of patients with diabetes only, and 74% of patients with both hypertension and diabetes were aware of the various components of nonpharmacological therapy for NCDs; this ranged from the knowledge of the diseases and knowledge about lifestyle modifications. About 13.8% of the respondents with hypertension only had good knowledge of hypertension prevention, whereas 62.8% had fair knowledge and 23.5% had poor knowledge of hypertension prevention, respectively. Although majority (74.5%) of our hypertensive patients and 77.8% of patients with both hypertension and diabetes, had a positive attitude toward nonpharmacological therapy. Conclusion: This study showed that a great percentage of our patients with NCDs had very poor knowledge of the different components of nonpharmacological therapies.
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