Objectives: To explore whether five variables of the health belief model were factors influencing self-care behaviors in young and middle-aged adults with hypertension.
Background: The self-care behaviors of young and middle-aged adults with hypertension are suboptimal in China, and the factors associated with self-care behaviors have rarely been studied in the population.
Methods: A questionnaire survey was adopted in the study. 382 eligible participants were recruited from two tertiary teaching hospitals using the convenience sampling.
Results: The predictors of self-care behaviors in young and middle-aged adults with hypertension included age, complications related to hypertension, perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, barriers and self-efficacy. Five aspects of health beliefs model accounted for 47.0% of total variance.
Conclusions: The perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, barriers, and self-efficacy were key factors affecting self-care behaviors in young and middle-aged adults with hypertension. A health education program targeting improving health beliefs for the population should be developed.
Keywords: Health belief; Hypertension; Self-care; Self-efficacy; Young and middle-aged adults.
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