Low-Sodium Dietary Perceptions and Experiences of African-American Women with Hypertension.

African-Americans are disproportionately affected by hypertension with lower rates of blood pressure control in comparison to the general population (Brennan et al., 2010). Low-sodium dietary intake is one of the most important lifestyle changes that can help control hypertension (Zhang et al., 2013). This qualitative study aimed to explore and describe the perceptions and experiences of low-sodium dietary practices among African-American women with hypertension. The study used a single-category focus group design. The findings suggest that African-American women are attempting to follow a low-sodium diet; however, they are influenced by personal and environmental factors and lack a clear understanding of what a low-sodium diet entails. Therefore, nurses must understand the factors that influence African-American women's ability to follow a low-sodium diet so that effective interventions can be implemented to improve adherence in this population.

Outpatient interventions for hepatology patients with fluid retention: a review and synthesis of the literature.

Cirrhosis of the liver was the 12th leading cause of death in the United States, according to the 2010 Vital Statistics Report. Cirrhosis is responsible for more than 150,000 hospitalizations each year. Similar to heart failure, severe fluid retention in cirrhotic patients leads to hospitalizations and increase in resource utilization. Outpatient interventions can be used to decrease preventable hospitalizations. The existing literature was explored to determine what interventions can be implemented in an outpatient setting that may reduce or prevent hospital admissions for cirrhotic patients with fluid retention. Seventeen articles were included in the review of the literature. There were 9 randomized controlled trials that yielded a total of 1,694 patients. One meta-analysis yielded 5 randomized controlled trials with 330 patients. Three cohort studies yielded 86 patients. One systematic review yielded 2,115 articles and 2 literature reviews yielded 110 articles. One report from an expert committee was included in the review. Findings from the studies identified 6 main interventions that can be used for outpatient management of cirrhotic patients with fluid retention and may prevent related hospitalizations. These include dietary sodium restriction, diuretics, daily weights, albumin infusions and paracentesis, placement of a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt, and telephone management.

Theory-based low-sodium diet education for heart failure patients.

Theory-based teaching strategies for promoting adherence to a low-sodium diet among patients with heart failure are presented in this article. The strategies, which are based on the theory of planned behavior, address patient attitude, subjective norm, and perceived control as patients learn how to follow a low-sodium diet. Home health clinicians can select a variety of the instructional techniques presented to meet individual patient learning needs.

Development and evaluation of DASH diet tailored messages for hypertension treatment.

For this study, the Manage Associated Perceptions (MAP) of Dietary Behavior Study, researchers developed, evaluated, and tested messages tailored to improve compliance with the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet by gradually instilling healthy Cognitive Representations of the DASH Diet (CRDDs). The sample consisted of women from diverse backgrounds (N = 53), randomly assigned to two experimental groups (n = 13 and n = 14) and to two control groups (n = 12 and n = 14). The experimental groups performed a version of the intervention for 30 days. Data about dietary compliance and CRDDs were collected at 30, 60, and 90 days. Compared to control group members, experimental group members demonstrated greater improvements in CRDD scores and were significantly more compliant with the diet. Another significant finding was that older women were more compliant.

Hypertension management: the primary care nursing role.

Hypertension is a prevalent chronic illness that is implicated in many cardiovascular diseases. Practice nurses and the district nursing team have a major role to play in its management. In this article, current British Hypertension Society guidelines are presented and discussed with regards to their evidence base. Implications for nursing practice are highlighted.