Knowledge and Attitude of Hypertensive Patients towards Self-Care Practices in Mbala, Northern Province, Zambia

Introduction: Hypertension is a chronic non-communicable disease that poses significant global health challenges due to its high prevalence and the resulting cardiovascular, stroke, and chronic renal complications. It is the third leading preventable risk factor for premature death and disability worldwide. Poor knowledge about hypertension can lead to a poor attitude toward the disease, which may directly affect patients’ self-care practices. There is a direct relationship between a patient’s knowledge and the management of their illnesses. A good knowledge and attitude towards hypertension have been associated with controlled blood pressure, reduced cardiovascular risks, improved medication compliance, reduced morbidity and mortality. Methods: This was an analytical cross-sectional study where 200 respondents aged 18 years and above participated in the study. Participants were randomly selected, and a self-administered structured interview schedule was used to collect data. The Statistics Package for Social Sciences computer software package version 27.0 was used to analyze data. Chi-square and fisher’s exact tests were used to test the significance of the association between Knowledge on Hypertension, and Attitude towards self-care practices among Hypertensive patients. A 95% confidence interval and a P-value of 0.05, were used to ascertain the degree of significance. Multivariate binary logistic regression model to determine predictors of self-care practices. Result: The majority of the respondents 54%, had low knowledge levels. The majority (66%) of respondents, had good self-care practices. The majority (58%), had a positive attitude towards self-care practices while 42% had a negative attitude. Chi-square test on knowledge (P-value 0.017) and P < 0.05, indicates that there was an association between self-care practices and knowledge levels of Hypertensive patients and attitude (P-value 0.005), P > 0.05 indicates that there was an association between self-care practices and attitude of Hypertensive patients. Significant associations were found P < 0.05 between knowledge levels and self-care practices (P-value 0.017), and between attitude and self-care practices (P-value 0.005). On multivariable logistic analysis patients with low knowledge levels were 0.180 times less likely to achieve good self-care practices (OR: 0.180, CI: 0.024 - 0.723, P < 0.017) and those with a negative attitude were 0.168 less likely to achieve good self-care practices (OR: 0.168, CI: 0.058 - 0.594, P < 0.005). Conclusion: Low knowledge levels and negative attitudes of patients were the main reasons associated with poor self-care practices. Particular attention should therefore be given to ensuring that Hypertensive patients are given adequate information on hypertension self-care in order to improve their quality of life.