Effectiveness of Health Education Program on Health Promotion Behaviors of Elderly Persons in Hypertension Disease at Amper Khaopanom Krabi Province

Abstract

                This quasi-experimental research aimed to study the effectiveness of a health education program on health promotion behaviors among elderly persons with hypertension in Khao Panom District, Krabi Province. The study included 30 participants with pre-test and post-test measurements over 12 weeks. Purposive sampling was used to select participants diagnosed with hypertension by a physician or had systolic blood pressure greater than or equal to 140 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure greater than or equal to 90 mmHg. The research instruments consisted of: (1) a health education program for promoting health behaviors in elderly persons with hypertension. Data collection tools measured knowledge, attitudes, and practices to promote health behaviors among elderly persons with hypertension. The experimental data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and paired t-test.

                 The results showed that after implementing the health education program to promote health behaviors among elderly persons with hypertension, the mean knowledge score regarding hypertension after the experiment (M=14.10, S.D.=0.89) was significantly higher than before the experiment (M=11.43, S.D.=1.33). The mean attitude score regarding hypertension (M=29.66, SD=2.24) was significantly higher than before the experiment (M=26.83, S.D.=2.70), and the mean practice score of elderly persons with hypertension (M=39.10, SD=3.12) was significantly higher than before the experiment (M=36.63, S.D.=3.87), with statistical significance at the .05 level. The mean systolic blood pressure before participating in the program was 146.00 mmHg (SD=3.95), which decreased to 143.46 mmHg (S.D.=3.82) after the program, and the mean diastolic blood pressure was 95.33 mmHg (S.D.=3.899) before the program, which decreased to 94.90 mmHg (S.D.=4.10) after the program. Both mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure measurements after participating in the program were significantly lower than before the program (p<0.05).