Improving DASH Diet Behaviors, Knowledge and Clinical Outcomes in Uncontrolled Hypertension through a Self-Management DASH Diet Intervention: A Quasi-Experimental Study

The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet is recognized as one of the most effective dietary interventions for reducing blood pressure. Self-management interventions based on the DASH diet have been developed to enhance dietary adherence and promote sustained blood pressure control among patients with hypertension. This study evaluated the self-management DASH diet intervention on DASH diet behaviors, knowledge and clinical outcomes in patients with uncontrolled hypertension. A quasi-experimental, one-group pretest-posttest study was conducted at the internal medicine outpatient department of a tertiary hospital in Maha Sarakham province, Thailand. Forty-eight participants with uncontrolled hypertension were recruited through purposive sampling. The 12-week intervention integrated DASH diet education, behavior modification, self-management skills, knowledge enhancement, and telephone-based follow-up. Data on knowledge, DASH diet behaviors, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP), and urine sodium were collected at baseline and post-intervention. Descriptive statistics and paired t-tests were applied for statistical analysis. After 12 weeks, participants’ knowledge scores improved from 8.75 to 10.00 and DASH diet behaviors improved significantly from 41.18 to 51.97 (p<0.001). Moreover, SBP decreased by 12.68 mmHg and DBP by 10.27 mmHg (p<0.001). In addition, urine sodium levels also decreased significantly (p<0.001). The findings suggest that a self-management DASH diet intervention can improve patients' knowledge and promote healthier dietary behaviors, as well as reduce SBP, DBP, and urine sodium levels.