Knowledge change related to hypertension in the Southern province of Vietnam: a community based, before and after intervention evaluation

Abstract

Background: This study describes the changes in knowledge of hypertension among adults aged 40 and above in four districts of Ho Chi Minh City as a result of the Communities for Healthy Hearts program, which started in 2016 and ended in 2019. Methods: We conducted a baseline and endline cross-sectional study of the Communities for Healthy Hearts program, the former in May 2016, and the latter in July 2019. A combination of multistage cluster random sampling techniques was used to recruit a total of 1296 adults within four districts of Ho Chi Minh City: including District 8, District 12, Go Vap, and Thu Duc. Information on the knowledge of hypertension, sociodemographic characteristics, and health behaviors were collected. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were employed to estimate the influence of socio-demographic factors on the knowledge of hypertension. Results: In the endline survey, a majority of participants showed adequate knowledge on the identification of normal blood pressure range (64.4%), hypertension risk factors (91.7% for correctly identifying at least three modifiable risk factors) and its symptoms (85.5% for correctly identifying at least three symptoms), which demonstrated a significant increase from the baseline survey. Higher educational levels and those previously diagnosed with hypertension had a significant positive correlation with the knowledge of hypertension in both survey evaluations. Whereas, knowledge was poorer in those who were retired/ unemployed compared to officers (adjusted odds ratio, 0.33; 95% confidence interval, 0.18-0.61). Besides television, health care professionals, and the project's channels (SMS message and collaborator) become the primary source of information for hypertension knowledge. Conclusion: The Communities for Healthy Hearts Program improved the levels of hypertension knowledge among people in the program areas. However, a lack of knowledge was observed among the uneducated, suggesting a streamlining of educational campaigns in this specific subsection of the population.