Self-management strategies are increasingly finding a niche in third world or developing countries. Mahaka sought to determine hypertensive self-care knowledge on outpatient pregnant hypertensive women, and to establish the relationship between their knowledge and hypertension control. The subjects were seventy-five pregnant women with mild hypertensive, not on antihypertensive drugs, who attended the antenatal clinic in Harare, Zimbabwe. A structured interview was administered regarding the indicators of hypertension self-care knowledge and blood pressure measurement using a syphygmanometer and a stethoscope. Selected indicators of hypertension self-care knowledge and diastolic blood pressure readings were analyzed. The total possible score for hypertension self-care knowledge was 40 (100%), with scores ranging from 11 (27.5%) to 38 (95%). The mean total knowledge score was 32.7 and the standard deviation was 4.24. Of blood pressure readings, 85.3% of the outpatients had a diastolic blood pressure of 90 mmHg and below. Only 14.7% had a diastolic blood pressure reading above 90 mmHg. The range was from 60 mmHg to 110 mmHg and the mean was 89.7 mm Hg. There was a significant relationship between hypertension self-care knowledge and diastolic blood pressure, which was significant. Simple linear regression analysis revealed a negative relationship, suggesting that hypertension self-care knowledge has a negative effect on hypertension.

WHAT THE STUDY MAY MEAN TO YOU: CONCLUSIONS: Mahaka concluded that self-care knowledge seems to assist in the control of hypertension in pregnancy. It would be nice if the author and coworkers could now generate a self-management program to further treat their patients. They seem to have created an atmosphere in Zimbabwe that could support such an effort.

HT Mahaka. The relationship between hypertensive pregnant women's hypertension self-care knowledge and hypertension control at a reference in Harare, Zimbabwe. Central Africa Journal of Medicine, 2006;52:58-62.