Knowledge and Awareness of Hypertension in Ghana. Management of Hypertension (PDF)

Master's Thesis from the year 2020 in the subject Health Sciences - Health education, , course: MASTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH, language: English, abstract: This study aims to assess the knowledge and awareness of hypertension among people in Ghana. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was used to carry out the study. A total of 408 participants were recruited from the municipality. The instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire, which assessed their awareness-level and knowledge-level on hypertension. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for the analysis of data.

With a total of 408 who participated in the study, 48.3 % were female and 51.7 % were male. Hypertension awareness was around 89 % among the participants. There was a significant level of awareness on hypertension among the respondents from the hypothesis t-valve (0.994) and p-valve (0.044). Most of the participants were able to determine BP 120/80 mm Hg as the average blood pressure and BP > 140/90 mm Hg as hypertension, respectively. When it comes to management option, 60 % preferred an orthodox treatment and 44 % knew stroke as a risk factor of hypertension.

Though the majority of the participants were educated and more than half were not able to mention drugs as a way to manage hypertension. In general, the knowledge and awareness-level of hypertension was good. Nevertheless, more research needs to be done to further explore this. The spike in incidence of adult related hypertension is now among one of the most significant public health problems globally. Prevention of hypertension-related complications can be achieved when individuals become aware of the condition and have knowledge on the importance of control of their blood pressure.