Lifestyle barriers to managing hypertension in people of African descent

Abstract

PurposeTo determine the lifestyle behaviors that act as barriers to controlling blood pressure among a sample of hypertensive persons of African descent.MethodsA total of 25 people of African descent diagnosed with hypertension (HTN) were recruited at 3 churches, one African American (AA, N=10), one African immigrant (AI, N=7), and one predominantly West Indian (WI, N=8). A Nominal Group Technique (NGT) focus group session was held at each church. Each group generated a list of responses to the question: “What are some things that make it hard for people to follow lifestyle recommendations to take care of their high blood pressure?” Participants then ranked their top responses, and the rankings were summed. The 10 responses with the highest scores were then given a rating of 0 to 10 by participants and the ratings were summed.ResultsThe WI group was older, had less education, and had had HTN for longer. The AI group was the youngest, had the most education, and had HTN for the shortest time. The AA & WI groups rated stress, physical limitations to exercise, and weight maintenance in their top 5 barriers. The AI group rated time for exercise, work, and eating habits in their top 5.ConclusionsThis study suggests groups of African descent may have different lifestyle barriers to managing HTN. Future work should examine the need for tailoring intervention by ethnic group. Funded by NHLBI.