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The Effect of Health Education on Taiwanese Hypertensive Patients’ Knowledge and Cognition of Stroke
Author(s) -
Tang YuHsuan,
Hung ChichHsiu,
Chen HsingMei,
Lin TsungHsien,
Liu Yi
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
worldviews on evidence‐based nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.052
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1741-6787
pISSN - 1545-102X
DOI - 10.1111/wvn.12083
Subject(s) - cognition , stroke (engine) , medicine , outpatient clinic , health education , intervention (counseling) , patient education , health care , family medicine , physical therapy , nursing , psychiatry , public health , mechanical engineering , engineering , economics , economic growth
Background Hypertension is a risk factor for stroke. Increasing patient knowledge and cognition about stroke among hypertensive patients is essential. Aims To explore the effect of a health education intervention on the knowledge and cognition of stroke in hypertensive patients. Methods A quasi‐experimental design was used with 103 patients with hypertension. The sample was recruited from a cardiologist's outpatient office at a medical center in Kaohsiung city, southern Taiwan. Half the patients (experimental group, n = 52) received health education, whereas the others received only conventional general outpatient care (control group, n = 51). All patients underwent a pretest followed by posttests at 4 and 8 weeks after the intervention. A stroke knowledge scale and stroke cognition scale were used for data collection. Results The experimental group scored significantly higher than the control group in level of knowledge and cognition of stroke. Discussion This study supports that a health education CD‐ROM and printed information provided in the outpatient clinical improves knowledge of and cognition of stroke among hypertensive patients. Implications for Practice In outpatient clinical practice, nurses can help improve patients’ knowledge and cognition of the risks of stroke by playing the health education CD‐ROM and providing printed information during the patients’ wait time before appointments. Conclusions Further studies with a longer follow‐up (6 months or 1 year) are needed to evaluate the long‐term effects of health education on stroke knowledge and cognition among patients with hypertension. Linking Evidence to Action An outpatient health education program using a CD‐ROM and printed information for hypertensive patients can improve the patients’ knowledge and cognition of stroke.