Bridging the Gap: The Use of a Faith Based Intervention to Improve the Management of Hypertension Among African Americans
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Date
2018-05-17
Type of Work
Department
Nursing
Program
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Citation of Original Publication
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Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 United States
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States
Abstract
The high mortality rates among African Americans related to complications of uncontrolled hypertension continue to be an unresolved issue. Successful management of chronic diseases such as hypertension require self-care behaviors which foster healthy outcomes and limit morbidities and mortalities related to uncontrolled hypertension. The purpose of this DNP project was to determine if a faith based self-management education program would improve self-care activities related to the management of hypertension among African American adults. Participants completed the Hypertension Self-Care Activity Level Effects Scale (H-Scale), a self-reported assessment designed to measure the practice of recommended self-care activities to control high blood pressure prior to and at the conclusion of eight faith based hypertension education sessions. The Self Transcendence Scale was administered at the beginning of the study to assess participants’ views of life and to what extent they utilize psychosocial resources and introspective means to promote a sense of well-being. Participants were also asked to complete a Spiritual Perspective Scale at the beginning and end of the project to assess to what extent they hold their spiritual views and engage in spiritually-related behaviors. The Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test revealed a statistically significant increase in medication adherence among participants post intervention. This data revealed an increase by 30% in the number of participants who were adherent with medication adherence after the intervention and a decrease of 10% of non-adherent participants. Increase in medication adherence among individuals with hypertension is substantial. Results of this project contributes to the limited body of knowledge regarding spirituality and its potential role in managing chronic disease.