PATIENTS` AWARENESS ABOUT ARTERIAL HYPERTNESION. THE ROLE OF NURSE STAFFING

Purpose: to evaluate the patients` awareness about arterial hypertension (HYP), and to clarify the role of nurse staffing in HYP prevention. Material and methods. We enrolled 120 HYP patients receiving follow-up care in Municipal Out-Patients` Clinic #1 (males – 43,3 %, females – 56,7 %; age ranged from 23 to 79 years). The awareness about HYP was evaluated by means of questioning. All the enrolled patients participated in the survey. Along with the survey, we performed blood pressure check and discussed with patients the issues regarding healthy life-style, risk factors modification and the potential HYP complications. Survey data analysis was performed by the use of Statistica v. 10.0 software package. Results and discussion. The HYP anamnesis duration was characterized by significant variation. The majority of respondents (82 %) pointed at HYP duration more than 10 years. The blood pressure checking revealed the predominance of degrees 1 and 2 of HYP. About the half of patients (n=59 [49,2 %]) were aware of their health status due to the long-term disease, along with 48 (40,0 %) patients who were insufficiently aware of their condition. Finally, 13 (10,8 %) patients had lacked interest in their disease, suggesting the passive and irresponsible attitude towards their own health. Conclusions. The effectiveness of preventive healthcare, as one the nurse staffing activities, is influenced by the following factors: key aspects, format and levels of preventive measures; patient-nurse partnership; material and technical support; patients` needs and interests; and the nurse`s ability to be creative.