Knowledge, attitude and Practice of Exercise for blood pressure control: A cross-sectional survey

There is emerging empirical evidence of the efficacy of exercise in blood pressure control, however, little is known about factors limiting exercise engagement in patients with hypertension. This cross-sectional study assessed knowledge, attitude and practice of exercise for blood pressure control among Nigerian patients with hypertension. A total of 150 (male, 66 and female, 84) patients with hypertension whose ages were 20 years and older participated in this study. A structured questionnaire which sought information on socio-demographics, knowledge, attitude and practice of exercise for blood pressure control was used to obtain data from the respondents who were recruited from selected government hospitals. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics at 0.05 Alpha level. More than half of the respondents, 90(60.0%) demonstrated poor exercise practice. A majority, 101(67.3%) had poor knowledge of exercise for hypertension control while a quarter, 39(26.0%) had positive attitude towards exercise. There were significant associations between knowledge of exercise and level of education (χ2=28.337; p=0.001), attitude (χ2=38.297; p=0.001) and practice of exercise (χ2=12.757; p=0.001) respectively. Significant association was found between knowledge and each of socio-economic status (χ2=19.192; p=0.001) and attitude (χ2=25.634; p=0.001). Practice of exercise for blood pressure control was low among Nigerian patients with hypertension which was significantly influenced by poor knowledge of and negative attitude towards exercise practice for blood pressure control.