Abstract
Introduction: Hypertension is a common and serious health problem in many developed and developing countries; yet self-management practices of hypertensive have never been empirical examined in the Caribbean. Objectives: This research seeks to: 1) examine the knowledge level on hypertensive among hypertensive patients at a hypertensive clinic in urban St. Andrew; 2) evaluate the knowledge level on hypertension among the sampled respondents differ based on particular socio-demographic characteristics; 3) determine the factors that influence knowledge level on hypertension among hypertensive patients at an urban clinic in St. Andrew, Jamaica; 4) examine the self-care management practices level among hypertensive patients at a hypertensive clinic in urban St. Andrew, Jamaica; 5) evaluate self-care management practices among the sampled respondents differ based on particular socio-demographic characteristics, and 6) determine the knowledge on hypertension influence self-care management practices level among hypertensive patients at a hypertensive clinic in urban St. Andrew, Jamaica. Methods: Convenience sampling was used to collected data from 50 hypertensive patients in clinic in an Urban Jamaican Hospital. The data were entered, retrieved and analysed using SPSS for Windows version 19.0. Findings: The average knowledge of hypertension index was 34.7 ± 2.11 compared to 23.4 ± 3.2 for self-care management. The number of medications taken and the length of time being diagnosed with the health condition influence the knowledge level the individual has on the disease, with those factors accounting for 44.1 percentages of the variance in knowledge level on hypertension. Conclusion: The findings provide key ingredients to effect policies changes and social interventions.