Knowledge and practice about hypertension and its influence factors in rural residents

Objective To examine the status of hypertension-related knowledge and behavior among rural residents in middle and west areas of China and to analyze the influence factors and the relationship between the knowledge and behavior.Methods Cluster sampling was used to select rural residents from 84 villages of 16 counties in Gansu,Qinghai,Shanxi provinces and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and a face-to-face interviewwas carried out.Results Among 5 486 residents selected,the overall awareness rate of the hypertension-related knowledge was 31.13% and 54.46% of the respondents got the passing score.The rate of correct hypertension-related behaviors was 54.5%.The analytical results showed that with hypertension,with junior middle school education level or above,and having higher family income played a protective role on the awareness of hypertension-related knowledge.Being female,with hypertension,at age of between 25 to 40 years,and with better hypertension-related knowledge were protective factors of hypertension-related behaviors in the residents.Conclusion The awareness rate of hypertension-related knowledge of the rural residents needs to be improved and the related behavior also needs to be improved.The influence factors of the awareness rate of hypertension-related knowledge include nationality,education level,family income,and with or without hypertension.The influence factors of hypertension-related behaviors of rural residents include sex,nationality,age,whether with hypertension,and the awareness of hypertension-related knowledge.