Need for the Study: There is a high prevalence of hypertension with very low rate of awareness and inadequate control of blood pressure among Korean-Americans (Kim, 2000 & Lee, 2001). Hypertension predisposes to all of the major atheroscelrosis cardiovascular disease outcomes including cardiac failure, stroke, coronary artery disease and peripheral artery disease (Kannel, 2000). Hypertension leads to considerable losses in terms of years of life, years of work, and health care costs (Kiiskinen, & et al. 1998). Without early intervention in the high normal or stage 1 hypertension, the costly cycle of managing hypertension and its complication will be continued. Therefore, there is a need to establish a systematic approach for community-based strategies to guide prevention, treatment, and control of hypertension with emphasis on differences in culture, heritage, and local influences in Korean-Americans. Objcetive and Design: The purpose of this two-group, repeated measures quasi-experimental pilot study was: to examine the effectiveness of a culturally relevant, theory-based lifestyle modification intervention in hypertension prevention and control for community dwelling older Korean-Americans from baseline and at 3 months after initiation of intervention. Sample and Setting: The sample was drawn from 5 community organizations serving Korean-Americans. Initially mini-health screening was done on 156 persons with aged 50 or older. 37 persons consented among 60 who met the participant’s criteria (high normal to stage 1 hypertension without having any antihypertensive treatments, no reported target organ or cardiac disease and no contraindications for regular physical activity). Outcome variables: Evaluate the effects of intervention on knowledge, health beliefs and attitudes, diet pattern and physical activity level, and BP, BMI, and cholesterol. Findings: The results showed that there was significant differences in knowledge, diet pattern and physical activity level, and systolic BP change in intervention groups. However, there were no significant changes in health beliefs and attitudes over time. Conclusions and Implications:Even though the study being an pilot with very small sample size, the finding is significant in that the culturally relevant intervention plays an important role in modifying diet patterns and physical activity, which results in reducing BP levels. Knowledge seems to be an important mediator in this process. Additional research is needed to strengthen implications for practice and further the design of culturally relevant interventions for hypertensive management in vulnerable populations.
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