Hypertension recommended self-care knowledge, attitude, practice and its predictors among hypertensive patients in Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

Introduction: Globally, hypertension is a significant public health challenge. Elevated BP is responsible for 7.6 million deaths per annum globally, which is greater than any other risk factors. The aim of the study was to assess the hypertension recommended self-care knowledge, attitude, practice, and its predictors among hypertensive patients at follow-up clinic. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was done on 120 hypertensive patients who were on follow-up clinic at Asella Referral and Teaching Hospital. The data were collected from patients from 23/12/2020 to 16/01/2021 by face-to-face interview and medical records review. Data were entered into Epi Data version 4.2.0.0 and exported to SPSS version 23.0 for statistical analysis. Results: The level of good knowledge, favorable attitude, and good practice towards recommended self-care was 60.0%, 52.5%, and 50.8%, respectively. Formal education. AOR=3.615, 95%CI (1.262, 10.352), p=0.017 and receiving information about self-care from healthcare providers during follow-up. AOR=3.307, 95%CI (1.226, 8.926), p=0.018 were factors significantly associated with knowledge towards recommended self-care. Having good knowledge towards self-care. AOR=13.449, 95%CI (4.794, 37.728), p=0.000 was significantly associated with attitude towards recommended self-care. Receiving information about self-care from healthcare providers during follow-up was 3.887 times. AOR=3.887, 95%CI (1.232,12.261), p=0.021, having good knowledge towards self-care. AOR=3.195, 95%CI (1.161,8.794), p=0.025, having a favorable attitude towards self-care. AOR=3.093, 95%CI (1.198,7.990), p=0.020 were factors significantly associated with practice towards recommended self-care. Conclusion: The level of good knowledge, favorable attitude, and good practice towards recommended self-care among hypertensive patients on follow-up was unsatisfactory. Health education programs about hypertension self-care need to take place to improve the knowledge, attitude, and practice of the patients.