A study to assess the knowledge on self-blood pressure monitoring (SBPM) among hypertensive patients in selected wards of Hospital Lam Wah Ee, Malaysia

Self-blood pressure monitoring (SBPM) athome creates greater awareness and patient participationin their treatment prevents hypertensive complicationsand helps facilitate doctors to make decisions ontreatment. A study was conducted to assess theknowledge on self-blood pressure monitoring (SBPM)among hypertensive patients in selected wards ofHospital Lam Wah Ee, Malaysia. The results showed only21 (32.3%) respondents monitored their blood pressureand 44 (67.7%) did not monitor their blood pressure athome. A total of 12 (18.4%) respondents reported thatthey monitored their blood pressure at home becausethey were aware of complications of hypertension. Fromthose respondents who did not monitor blood pressureat home, only 13 (29.5%) respondents planned to carryout SBPM at home in the future. The overall knowledgescore results for self-blood pressure monitoring showedthat 6 (9.2%) subjects scored 8 and above, 42 (64.6%)scored 5-7, and 17 (26.1%) scored less than 4. Thefindings from the study will help the nurses understandthe level of knowledge on SBPM among hypertensivepatients, and include training and health educationduring hospitalisation reinforcing the importance andthe technique of performing SBPM at home. It alsohelps to identify patients with poor control of bloodpressure so that they can be referred to the physician forfurther treatment.