Self-Management Improvement Program Combined with Community Involvement in Thai Hypertensive Population: An Action Research
Jeamjai Srichairattanakull MSc*, Wonpen Kaewpan DrPH*, Arpaporn Powattana PhD*, Panan Pichayapinyo PhD*
Affiliation : * Department of Public Health Nursing, Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
Objective : To investigate the effectiveness of a program that utilizes community involvement to improve the self-management
strategies among people living with hypertension.
Material and Method: Forty-four subjects, aged 35 to 59-year-old, with hypertension in Nakhon Pathom Province, Thailand,
were randomly allocated to either an experimental group (n = 22) or a control group (n = 20). The experimental group
attended a program to improve self-management methods based on social cognitive theory (SCT). The program lasted
12 weeks, consisted of 1½ hours meeting once a week, including group meetings and home visit monitoring. Mann-Whitney
U test and Friedman test were employed to analyze the program’s effectiveness.
Results : After the program, the mean rank of the perceived self-efficacy for the self-management strategies was statistically
different between the two groups (p = 0.023). In the experimental group, after the twelve week, the mean rank of perceived
self-efficacy and outcome expectancy increased and diastolic blood pressure decreased after the eight week.
Conclusion : The program applied social cognitive theory (SCT) to promote self-management techniques, increased the
health promoting behavior among hypertensive people.
Keywords : Hypertension, Self-management strategies, Family support, Community involvement
