Social Support and Self-care Practice among Patients with Hypertension in a Teaching Hospital

• Published in: Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences
• Main Author: Nazeri N.S.; Mohamad N.; Redzuan M.; Mulud Z.A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universiti Putra Malaysia Press 2022
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85134413611&doi=10.47836%2fmjmhs18.8.36&partnerID=40&md5=e8dd27d7b401e2edf1e0e3f95bbae2a2

Introduction: Hypertension affects most people worldwide and is the primary cause of illness and death. Social support is the functional relationship that provides emotional and physical help commonly with chronic diseases, including hypertension. Self-care practices among hypertension patients, such as lifestyle modifications, physical activity, and nutrition, are important for hypertension management. Thus, this study aims to determine the level of social support, self-care practice, and the relationship between socio-demographic characteristics and self-care practice among hypertension patients. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 161 hypertensive patients from a teaching hospital in Sungai Buloh from April to June 2021. A self-administered questionnaire consisting of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MPSSS) and Hypertension Self-Care Profile (HTN-SCP) was used to evaluate social support and self-care practice among hypertensive patients, respectively. Results: Most patients demonstrate poor social support (n=84, 52.2%) and good self-care practices (n=89, 55.3%). Social support has a significant relationship with marital status (x2:12.03; p-value:0.002) and duration with hypertension (x2:8.52; p-value:0.009). Hypertension self-care practice has a significant relationship with religion (x^2:15.18; p-value:0.001), race (x2: 14.18; p-value<0.001), monthly income (x2:6.77; p-value:0.034), source of information (x2:9.87; p-value:0.011) and existence of a place for exercise (x2:4.74; p-value:0.030). Conclusion: The findings highlighted that social support and self-care practice are useful elements among hypertensive patients. However, future multicentre studies were recommended to investigate the perceived social support and self-care practices in a larger population of hypertensive patients. © 2022 UPM Press. All rights reserved.