The Effect of Lifestyle Modification Program on Behavior Change and Physical Condition among Hypertensive Elders

High blood pressure is a significant health problem worldwide and increase the risks of stroke, heart disease, kidney disease, and blindness. The Joint National Committee suggested a lifestyle modification besides drug medication in the prevention and treatment of hypertension. The aspects that highly affected behavior when intervention of health behavior done by nursing was interpersonal aspects that was guided by the Social Cognitive Theory [SCT]. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the lifestyle modification program with SCT as a guideline on self-efficacy, outcome expectation, heart rate, and LDL-C. A quasi experiment with two groups, pre and post- test was the design of this study. The sample was randomly selected 29 hypertensive elders in each group from two different primary health centers in the North-Bekasi sub district, West Java, Indonesia. The instrument used consists of 2 parts, the lifestyle modification program and a self-administered questionnaire including physical examination. Paired t-test and independent t- test were used for data analysis. The results showed there was a significant difference of self-efficacy, outcome expectation, heart rate, and LDL-C within the intervention group ( p <.001) and there was a significant difference of self-efficacy, outcome expectation, heart rate, and LDL-C between the intervention group and the comparison group (p <.001). In conclusion, the results indicate that the lifestyle modification program has a positive effect on improving hypertensive elders’ self-efficacy, outcome expectation, and maintaining their heart rate, and LDL- C.