The Effect of Nutritional Education on Vitamin C and Dietary Fiber Intake among Patients with Rural Hypertension

Abstract

Background: A healthy diet has beneficial effects on reducing risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of theoretical educational intervention on blood pressure in patients with rural hypertension. Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 138 patients with hypertension (68 in intervention and 70 in control group) were randomly selected from those referred to Ardabil rural health centers, Iran, during 2013. The intervention group received nutritional education based on the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) recommendations for 6 sessions. The pre- and post-test had an interval of 2 and 6 months. Pender’s Health Promotion Model was applied to extend the motivation of the behavior. Descriptive analysis, repeated measures analysis of variances, independent-t and paired-t tests were used to analyze the data. Findings: After intervention, vitamin C and dietary fiber intake increased significantly in the intervention group (P < 0.001); but these changes were not significant in the control group over the time. Conclusion: Educational intervention provided based on Pender’s health promotion model had a beneficial effect on vitamin C and dietary fiber intake.

Keywords

• Blood pressure
• Nutrition
• Health promotion model
• Fiber
• Vitamin C