An experiment in common sense: education at blood pressure screening

This study compared the impact of three educational messages about hypertension used at a worksite blood pressure screening program. The messages sought to change beliefs and health behaviors related to hypertension. Each participant who had either been previously diagnosed as hypertensive or had an elevated blood pressure at screening was randomly assigned to view one of three slide/tape messages about high blood pressure: (1) a standard (control) message, and one of two experimental messages; (2) a standard message combined with action plans or (3) a standard plus action plan message combined with information on "wellness thinking" as opposed to relying on the presence of symptoms to monitor blood pressure level. Self-report measures obtained immediately after viewing the slide/tapes, 1 week and 9 months later included intentions to change behavior, reports of changes made in health behaviors, and beliefs about the reliance on symptoms to monitor blood pressure level. Both experimental messages containing action plan information led to stronger reported intentions and reported behavior change up to 9 months later, but few differences were statistically significant. Subjects who received "wellness thinking" information were less likely to attribute symptoms to high blood pressure up to one week later, but these differences disappeared at the nine month follow-up. Results suggest that effective education about hypertension should include specific information on strategies for reducing blood pressure.