Effects of education on self-monitoring of blood pressure based on BASNEF model in hypertensive patients

BACKGROUND Hypertension is one of the most important health problems. Self-monitoring may be an effective method for controlling this disease. The aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of education on blood pressure self-monitoring in patients with hypertension based on BASNEF model. METHODS In this clinical trial, 150 outpatients with hypertension were randomly selected from those referred to private clinics in Yazd, Iran, during 2008. They were divided in two groups. The data were collected by a validated and reliable questionnaire. The implementing educational program was continued for 2 months and the pre-test and post-test had an interval of 2-months. BASNEF model was applied to explain the motivation of a behavior. Descriptive analysis, correlation test and also regression analysis were used to analyze data. RESULTS The respondents acquired 17.72% of total score for self-monitoring behavior, 47.03% of attitude, 12.37% of subjective norms, 33.46% of intention and 50.95% of enabling factors. After intervention, there were significant increases in self-monitoring behavior (173.31%), attitude (62.60%), subjective norms (54.70%), intention (129.93%) and enabling factors (46.62%) in the intervention group. There was no significant difference between the constructs of BASNEF model in the control group after intervention compared to the baseline values (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The results of this study showed that the level of self-monitoring behavior in the patients was low. Educational programs are helpful and necessary to improve self-monitoring behavior in patients with hypertension.