2025, Vol. 7, Issue 3, Part A

Background: Hypertension is a major contributor to global morbidity and mortality, particularly in low- and middle-income countries like Sierra Leone. Although lifestyle modification has been proven to be an effective non-pharmacologic strategy in managing hypertension, there is limited data on patients’ knowledge and practice of such modifications in this setting.

Objective: To assess the knowledge and lifestyle modification practices among hypertensive patients and determine the socio-demographic factors associated with adherence to recommended lifestyle behaviors at Connaught Hospital, Freetown.

Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted from February to August 2021 among 205 hypertensive patients attending the Specialist Outpatient Department at Connaught Hospital. Participants were selected using a consecutive sampling technique and interviewed using a structured, pre-tested questionnaire. Descriptive statistics summarized participants’ socio-demographic profiles, knowledge, and practice levels. Chi-square tests were used to explore associations between socio-demographic variables and lifestyle modification practices. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: Out of the 205 participants, 56.6% were aged 40–60 years, and 58.5% were female. While 59.5% demonstrated high knowledge about lifestyle modification, only 4.4% exhibited good practice. Key factors significantly associated with practice included duration of illness (p=0.027), dietary pattern (p<0.001), prior information on lifestyle modification (p<0.001), family type (p=0.001), and high-risk behaviors (p<0.001). Age, sex, education level, marital status, and occupation were not significantly associated with practice.

Conclusion: Despite a relatively high level of knowledge, actual lifestyle modification practices among hypertensive patients were poor. This highlights a critical knowledge-practice gap and underscores the need for patient-centered, behavior-focused interventions to improve hypertension management.

Recommendations: Efforts should be made to enhance structured health education, promote continuous counseling, and involve family and community-based strategies to support sustainable behavior change among hypertensive patients in Sierra Leone.