Supporting Healthy Lifestyle Behavior Change in Hypertension Patients

Abstract

Hypertension is one of the most common health conditions and comorbidities, and is considered a silent killer. One of the non-pharmacological efforts to help hypertensive patients control their blood pressure is through changes in lifestyle to become healthier, and it is the role of nurses to promote these changes. This study aimed to determine the impact of the Healthy Lifestyle Change Plan (RPGHS) card on healthy lifestyle behaviors of hypertension sufferers. This research was a pre-experimental study with a one-group pretest-posttest design. The sample consisted of 36 patients recruited through purposive sampling. The data were collected using an observation sheet (RPGHS card) which was used to identify the lifestyle of people with hypertension; lifestyle behaviors measured included maintaining an ideal body weight, salt consumption, stress management, smoking habits, physical activity, and checking blood pressure. Assistance was carried out for two days. Data were analyzed using the Kolmogorov Smirnov test and paired t-test, which showed that there was a significant difference in healthy lifestyle behaviors before and after the mentoring (p < 0.001). The RPGHS card made it easy for patients to plan healthier lifestyle changes to implement in daily life. So, this is recommended as an instrument to help hypertensive patients in the process of behavior change. Keywords: hypertension, healthy lifestyle, change, RPGHS Card