Awareness and self care practices regarding prevention of chronic kidney disease among hypertensive patients at the university teaching hospital of Butare.

Abstract

Background:There is a strong relationship between hypertension (HTN) and CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease) and this relationship has an interrelated characteristic; this means that HTN can be a cause or a complication CKD, and it is found in more than 80% of patients living with CKD. Moreover, HTN is recognized to be a risk factor for cardiovascular conditions with the potentiality to lead to a vicious cycle of cardiovascular diseases to CKD and vice versa. So, being aware about HTN and adhering to self-care practices are very important to control blood pressure (BP),and therefore to slow down the progression of HTN to CKD. Aim: The main aim of this study was to assess the awareness and self-care practice regarding the prevention of chronic kidney disease among patients living with high blood pressure at the University Teaching Hospital of Butare located in the district of Huye, in the southof Rwanda. Methods: The approach for this study was quantitative, and the designwas descriptive crosssectional.Collected data came from a sample of 140 participants chosen using purposive sampling technique collected using a Closed-ended questionnaire. Datahave been analyzed using SPSS Software Version number 23 with descriptive and inferential statistics. Results:Among the 140 participants, the findings about the level of awareness revealed that 48.6%% were with low level, 10% with moderate level, and 41.4% with high level. Regarding the level of self-care practice, 6.4% were with low level, 56.5% with moderate level, and 37.1% with high level. The only factor found to be associated with the awareness was the educational level (mean = 9.9; 95% CI (7.9–11.9); p=.026). The factors associated with self-care practices were age (mean = 18.6; 95% CI (17.1-20.1); p=.000); marital status (mean = 18.4; 95% CI (17.1–19.7); p=.003); educational level (mean = 18.3; 95% CI (17.4–19.3); p=.020), occupation (mean = 18.2; 95% CI (15.4–20.8); p=.021); residence (mean = 18.3; 95% CI (17.6–19); p=.026). A non-significantweak positive relationship between awareness and self-care practices of hypertensive patients has been observed (r = .254, n = 140, p = 0.02). Conclusion: The results indicatedthat the majority of participants are with moderatelevels of awareness and self-care practices regarding CKD prevention, therefore further actions are needed to raise their awareness and self-care practices to prevent CKD caused by HTN.