Abstract:
Background: Hypertension is an important public health problem in the world for both
developed and developing country. The prevalence of hypertension and its complications are
increasing worldwide. Non-adherence to Lifestyle modification is one of the reasons for
uncontrolled blood pressure and its complications among hypertensive patients. However, there
are limited studies in Ethiopia on non-adherence to life style modification practice of
hypertension management.
Objective: To assess the magnitude of non-adherence to lifestyle modifications and associated
factors among hypertensive patients attending chronic follow-up unit in Arbaminch General
Hospital, Southern Ethiopia.
Methods: Facility based, cross-sectional study disign was conducted among 270 diagnosed
hypertensive patients in Arbaminch General Hospital from March 1, to April15, 2019.
Systematic sampling was used from total of 1277 patients on chronic follow up to get the study
participants every 4
th interval. The data were collected through face to face interview using a
structured questionnaire. Quantitative data was checked and entered in to Epidata version 3.1,
and were exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Associations between independent variables
and dependent variables were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression analysis, with Pvalues <0.05 at 95% CI was considered statistically significant.
Result: The study included 270 respondents with 97.8% response rate. The respondent’s nonadherence to lifestyle modifications was 59.3%. One hundred ninety one (70.7%) of respondent
were not adherent to exercise recommendation. 26.3% of the respondents were non adherent to
diet related recommendations. More than half (53.3%) of respondents had poor weight
management practice. Educational status (AOR=0.84 95% CI: 0.08, 0.35) and duration of
counseling (AOR=2.08, 95% CI: (1.09, 3.69) Patients with poor relationship with health
professional were. AOR: 1.45, CI(1.10 ,2.39) associated with non-adherence to lifestyle
modifications. Conclusion and recommendation -The magnitude of non-adherence to life-style
changes were generally found to be high; therefore health care providers should advise the
patients to focus on lifestyle modifications practice.
