ABSTRACT
Background and Aims: In low-income countries where there is shortage of appropriate medical care to manage hypertension (HTN), understanding dynamics of communities' knowledge and attitude to prevent through lifestyle is crucial. Despite this fact, there was limited information on levels of awareness and attitude towards HTN and its prevention in the study setting. So, this study was conducted to assess level and factors associated with positive attitude in Hawassa city, Southern Ethiopia. Methods: A community level study using cross-sectional design was done in Hawassa city administration in 2017. Six hundred and twelve respondents were selected using a multi-stage sampling technique. Knowledge and attitude were assessed using multiple questions and responses were categorized considering mean as cutoff points. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression analysis at 95% confidence interval (CI) were performed. Results: The level of mean score of knowledge was 62.7% (SD = 22.2) [95% CI: 60.9-64.4] while that of attitude was 68.1% (SD = 8.8) [95% CI: 67.4-68.8]. Divorced/widowed respondents were 73% less likely to have positive attitude as compared to married respondents (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 95% CI: 0.27 [0.14-0.51], p-<0.001). Respondents who attended primary, secondary and higher education were 2.84 times (AOR 95% CI: [1.48-5.42], p 0.002), 5.59 times (AOR 95% CI: [2.87-10.89], p-<0.001) and 9.28 times (AOR 95% CI: [4.39-19.65], p-<0.001) more likely to have positive attitude as compared to those who cannot read and write. Moreover, respondents who have good knowledge were 2.24 times (AOR 95% CI: [1.49-3.37], p-<0.001) more likely to have positive attitude as compared with those who have poor knowledge. Conclusion: The overall levels of knowledge and attitude related to HTN and its prevention were moderate but not adequate to bring lifestyle modifications required to prevent and control HTN. Health promotion activities should be strengthened to improve awareness and attitude that are pillars to bring lifestyle modification practices.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: In association with the epidemiological, nutritional and demographic transition, many research findings showed that the number of risk factors that leads to increased prevalence of hypertension in low and middle income countries like Ethiopia is increasing. Several urban specific studies conducted in Ethiopia showed varying prevalence of hypertension. The aim of this study was to determine prevalence of hypertension and to identify factors associated with hypertension in Hawassa city administration, Southern Ethiopia. METHODS: A community-based cross sectional study was carried out in Hawassa city administration in 2017. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 612 study participants. Descriptive statistics was used to describe socio-demographic, behavioral and anthropometric variables. The economic status of household, 'wealth index', was constructed by running principal component analysis. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to assess factors associated with hypertension at 95%CI. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of hypertension was 21.2% (95% CI: 18.1-24.7), (24.5% for urban and 14.7% for peri-urban). About two fifths of hypertension cases (42.3%) were newly diagnosed with elevated blood pressure during data collection. Age, occupation, wealth status, consuming vegetables and animal fat, usual mode of transport, body mass index (BMI), family history of hypertension and existence of diabetes were associated with presence of hypertension at 95%CI. The average diastolic blood pressure for urban was 2.18mmHg higher than that of peri-urban groups (p-0.01). CONCLUSION: More than one fifth of study participants had hypertension and about two fifths of hypertension cases were newly diagnosed. Health communication should be strengthened focusing on identified risk factors and attention should be given to early detect and tackle the effects of hypertension in resource limited setting.
