Table 1.
Educational content of the experimental group
| Sessions | Educational content |
|---|---|
| First session | Definition of high blood pressure, sorting and diagnosing high blood pressure, number of follow ups and referring to the physician, complications and risk factors of high blood pressure and methods of treating and controlling high blood pressure |
| Second session | “DASH” diet, the importance of diet and its effect on controlling blood pressure, foods that could lower blood pressure, foods that could increase blood pressure, right method of cooking foods and its importance, the advantages of low salt and “DASH” diets |
| Third session | Appropriate duration, repetition and type of exercise for participants, the importance of increasing physical activity, inappropriate exercises, how to lose weight and its effect on controlling blood pressure, the risks of weight gain, the effect of increase in waist, abdomen and hip size on blood pressure, the advantages of increase in physical activity |
| Fourth session | The importance of regular drug treatment, different types of blood pressure lowering drugs, drug interactions, the right consumption method of drugs based on their dose and timing and considering drug interactions, drugs’ side effects |
| At the end of this session a scenario about some patients who have experienced acute complications due to lack of control of their blood pressure was given to the participants and they were asked to study it before next sessions. | |
| Fifth session | Reviewing scenarios in groups, presenting a video about a patient with high blood pressure, methods to defy stress, the advantages of stress management, the effect of stress and tension on blood pressure, relaxation and muscle releasing methods |
| Sixth session | Family’s participation was demanded to support patients, participants’ families were invited to participate in the last session, then they were informed shortly about the disease, healthy lifestyle, the ways to control it, the complications of not controlling the disease and the role of family’s participation in supporting the patient; at the end, a question and answer session was conducted with participants and their families |
| Phone follow up | Reviewing topics, obstacles, helping participants to remove the obstacles, answering participants’ questions, giving encouraging feedback |