Self-Care Activities and Self-Efficacy Among Jordanian Patients with Hypertension: A Cross-Sectional Study

This study aimed to evaluate self-care activities (SCAs) and self-efficacy, and to determine their correlates and predictors among Jordanian patients with hypertension.

A descriptive, cross-sectional correlational design study was used among 231 patients. Data was collected using structured interviews guided with a questionnaire that included demographic and clinical data, the Arabic version of the Hypertension Self-care Activity Level Effects (H-SCALE), and the Perceived Self-Efficacy Scale.

The mean age was 49.2 years (SD = 13.4); 55.4% were males and 72.7% were married. Among them, comorbidities were prevalent (68%), with 42% of participants reporting diabetes. More than half were smokers (56.3%). The mean BMI was 28.3 (SD = 4.5), indicating overweight status. The mean H-SCALE score was 40.7 (SD = 9.1, range 17.82-62.8), indicating low adherence to recommended self-care activities to manage hypertension. Female patients and those with chronic hypertension had significantly higher H-SCALE scores (p <0.001). Significant predictors of H-SCALE included gender (B = 2.91, p =0.027), marital status (B = -4.52, p =0.01), time since diagnosis (B = 4.2, p =0.001), and self-efficacy (B =0.18, p =0.001), explaining 28% of the variance (R² =0.277, F(10, 220) = 4.81, p <0.001). The mean self-efficacy score was 16.6 (SD = 12.2, range 0-45), indicating low self-efficacy. Female patients and those with chronic hypertension also had higher self-efficacy (p <0.001). Predictors included age (B = -0.288, p <0.001), time since diagnosis (B = 7.84, p <0.001), and H-SCALE score (B =0.290, p =0.001), accounting for 35% of the variance (R² =0.354, F(10, 220) = 7.55, p <0.001).

Low levels of self-care activities and self-efficacy increase the risk of hypertension-related complications. Targeted interventions, such as patient education, lifestyle modification, routine follow-up, self-monitoring, and integrating digital health tools, are needed to improve patient outcomes.