ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES IN NON-WORKING WOMEN REGARDING HYPERTENSION VISITING OPD IN LAHORE GENERAL HOSPITAL, LAHORE

Objective: To assess the knowledge and practices in non-working women regarding hypertension visiting OPD in Lahore General Hospital Lahore.

Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted on 200 patients presenting to the medical outpatient department of Lahore General Hospital during Jan 2019 to March 2019. Research investigators were deputed as focal persons to brief the volunteers about the content and purpose of the study. A self-structured questionnaire was prepared after input from the subject experts. Socio demographic data and the response to the various variable associated with the hypertension was recorded. Results were analyzed by SPSS 21.
Results: The age of patients ranged from 20 years to 60 years with mean age of 40 years and median age of 37.5 years. 62% of the participants were males. Only 8% knew the correct values for labeling hypertension >130/80mmHg, 6% stated that they were getting their blood pressures checked on daily basis. Conclusion: The study concludes that a significant proportion of hypertensive patients in our society possess inadequate knowledge and practices regarding hypertension.

Keywords: Hypertension, Knowledge, Practice, Awareness.