Knowledge, practices and prevalence of hypertension among poor urban community dwellers in Ibadan, South-Western Nigeria

Objectives: The study investigated the knowledge, prevalence of hypertension and associated factors among poor urban community dwellers in Ibadan, Nigeria. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study that explored non-communicable diseases using the modified World Health Organisation STEPwise approach to noncommunicable disease risk factor surveillance. Data was collected from 500 eligible participants aged 18–65 years from two urban communities in Ibadan, Nigeria. Knowledge was scored on 28-point score with ≤9 classified as poor, 10–19 as fair, and 20–28 as good. Data were analysed using Chi-square statistics and binary logistics regression at p < 0.05 level of significance. Results: Mean age of the respondents was 35.3 ± 12.2 years, most, (67.9%) of the male respondents were currently married, while most female were self-employed (72.8%) with secondary education (53.1%). Almost two-fifth, (16.2%) had good knowledge of hypertension which was associated with Christianity religion, earning more than #20,000 ($49) monthly and a history of obesity ( p = 0.001). Hypertension prevalence was 18.6%, and only 8.4% were aware of their hypertensive status before the survey. Obesity was 14.6% among females and 3.0% among males. The majority of the females (87.0%) and 55.8% of males were physically inactive. More males (64.9%) than females (42.3%) consume alcohol. The logistic regression shows no significant association with the covariates. Conclusion: The study population has a low level of knowledge, high risky practices and a high prevalence of hypertension. There is a need for concerted health promotion interventions geared towards improving the knowledge and changing the behavioural practices of poor urban community members in southwestern Nigeria.