Date of Graduation

Summer 2010

Degree

Master of Science in Nursing

Department

Nursing

Committee Chair

Kathryn Hope

Abstract

The medically uninsured have difficulty managing chronic disease, such as hypertension, due to a lack of healthcare access and the high costs of healthcare. Preventative care and adherence to treatment is directly affected by an individual's health beliefs. This descriptive correlational study used a convenience sample (N=39) to evaluate the health beliefs of uninsured, low-income, hypertensive adults at a free health clinic. Using the Health Belief Model as a framework, participants' perceived barriers and benefits to treating hypertension were evaluated using the modified Knowledge, Perceptions, Beliefs and Behaviors Related to the Prevention of Hypertension questionnaire (Newell, Modeste, Marshak, & Wilson, 2009). Statistically significant findings were: length of diagnosis of hypertension had a negative relationship with perceived severity (-0.337, p <0.05); educational level had a negative relationship with high blood pressure knowledge (-0.454, p < 0.01); and those who participated in exercise behaviors disagreed to barriers to finding the time (0.376, p <0.05) and place (0.437, p < 0.01) to exercise. Only 7.7% of the sample reported eating 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily. The results of this study can be used to develop best practice standards for low-income, uninsured patients and to understand barriers to change. By understanding health beliefs among the uninsured and low-income population, health care providers will be able to enact programs that improve health.

Keywords

health beliefs, low-income, medically uninsured, health belief model, hypertension

Subject Categories

Nursing

Copyright

© Laura Dianne Burton

Download

Campus Only

Share

COinS