Learning Objective #1: Describe how stressors of grandparenting may impact hypertension self-care among African Americans

Learning Objective #2: Discuss issues of caregiving that may interact with self-care requirements among urban hypertensive African American grandparents caring for grandchildren

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Purpose: The American Heart Association (AHA) ranks cardiovascular disease as the primary cause of death among African Americans. Because stress is a major factor in hypertension, research on parenting stressors, lifestyle behaviors, and coping of grandparents with hypertension is important. This study describes Urban African Americans caring for grandchildren and examines perceived parenting stressors relative to hypertension management.

Subjects: Forty-nine hypertensive African American grandparents residing in Detroit participated in the study.

Methods: This study used a quantitative descriptive design. Baseline descriptive data and the Index of Parental Attitudes (IPA) were collected by structured interview. Data obtained from the interviews were analyzed using frequency distributions and measures of central tendency and dispersion.

Results: Participants ranged from 30 to 82 years of age, were mostly female (77%), and had from 1 to 6 grandchildren. Participants were sedentary (51%), cigarette smokers (47%), and obese (67%). Mean systolic blood pressure was 157 and mean diastolic blood pressure was 89. IPA scores averaged 12.7, with scores > 30 indicating high levels of parental stress. Four (8.4%) participants had clinically stressful relationships with their grandchildren.

Conclusions: The present study is the first in a line of research studies to develop a knowledge base about the influence of parental attitudes on grandparents' hypertension outcomes. Based on the results of this study, further studies may be conducted for descriptive and/or intervention purposes to help hypertensive grandparents positively cope with the stressors of caring for themselves and their grandchildren.