ABSTRACT
Objective:
To analyze the influence of educational interventions on the anthropometric, clinical, and biochemical profiles and perceived health and disease of individuals with high blood pressure in the context of the Family Health Strategy.
Methods:
This longitudinal, interventional, and comparative study included individuals with high blood pressure registered at and followed by the Family Health Strategy of the municipality of Porto Firme, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Twelve-month educational interventions were conducted in the Family Health Strategy facilities and during home visits. Socioeconomic characteristics, life habits, health care data, understanding and knowledge about high blood pressure, perceived health and disease, and anthropometric, biochemical, and clinical variables were analyzed before and after the interventions.
Results:
The clinical, biochemical, and anthropometric variables improved, albeit by not much. The interventions changed body mass index (0.001), waist circumference (p<0.001), blood glucose (p=0.011), total cholesterol (p<0.001), high-density lipoproteins cholesterol (p<0.001), and triglycerides (p=0.019) significantly. The interviewees demonstrated that they had incorporated new knowledge on the meaning of high blood pressure, and their perceived health and disease was more strongly related to subjective aspects of their life experience and quality of life than to biological and medical issues.
Conclusion:
The educational interventions proved to have a high potential to fight high blood pressure by promoting positive changes on the study profiles. However, their effect is strongly related to their continuous provision.
Keywords:
Health education; Family Health Strategy; Hypertension.
