Introduction: Hypertension, due to its high prevalence and strong association with cardiovascular diseases, has become a major global public health challenge. Meanwhile, the crucial role of self-care in the management of chronic diseases has been well established, underscoring the importance of identifying factors that influence it. The present study was conducted to determine the status of self-care and to identify its associated factors among patients with hypertension in the city of Sanandaj, Iran.
Methods: In this cross-sectional (descriptive–analytical) study, a total of 325 patients with hypertension were assessed. Participants were selected through convenience sampling from hypertensive patients referring to teaching hospitals and healthcare clinics affiliated with Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences in Sanandaj. Data were collected using a demographic checklist and the Hypertensive Patients’ Self-Care Questionnaire. Independent t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Pearson’s correlation coefficient were employed for data analysis. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS software version 25.
Results: The mean age of participants was 57.9 ± 13.7 years. Most participants were male (63.4%) and married (75.7%). In the majority of cases (47.4%), participants reported low satisfaction with their financial status. The mean self-care score was 45.9 ± 7.4. Patients who had previously received hypertension care education had significantly higher self-care scores than those who had not (P < 0.001). Furthermore, significant differences in self-care scores were observed across occupational groups and levels of income satisfaction (P < 0.001).
Conclusion: Receiving hypertension care education, type of occupation, and satisfaction with income were found to significantly influence self-care behaviors among hypertensive patients. It is recommended that health policymakers prioritize the implementation of structured educational programs on hypertension management through comprehensive health centers as an effective strategy to improve self-care among patients.