[Evaluation on the effectiveness for self-management of hypertensive patients in a community]

To evaluate the acceptability of self-management project for patients with hypertension and the short term result, and provide the evidence of preventing and controlling hypertension using chronic disease self-management.

Voluntary patients with hypertension were grouped into the control and experimental groups after matching age, sex, education levels and the number of chronic diseases between the two groups. Data collected through questionnaire after intervention were compared with the baseline data through analysis of covariance and chi(2) test.

Rate of awareness for the diagnostic criteria of hypertension, risk factors and associated diseases increased by 56.4%, 50.4% and 37.6% respectively, and the rate of high salt diet intake, body mass index and the times of visiting doctors decreased by 27.1%, 0.8 kg/m(2) and 2.7 times on average in experimental group, as compared with control group. The health status (energy, fatigue, shortness of breathe, pain) improved (P < 0.05). In the similar comparison, the rate in which the hypertensive patients took antihypertensive medicine increased by 20%, and the scores of cognitive symptoms management and of patient communication with physician increased by 3.9 and 1.1 points respectively. The rate of compliance to medication increased by 21.5% compared with themselves.

The awareness rate of hypertensive patients on knowledge and on unhealthy life style improved after implementing the self-management program. Their emotion, healthy behavior, health status and symptoms related to hypertension improved. Data showed that it was effective for hypertensive patients to use chronic diseases self-management.