Self-care practices of hypertensive adult female patients in the City of Marikina amidst the COVID-19 lockdown: a phenomenological inquiry

10.30207/AHLA.202312.0037

Lorreneil M. Capacio；Andrea E. Castillo；Ereca Joy D. Debalucos；Louiejabe Y. Nuniala；Shane Andrelei D. Perez；Emerito Jose A. Faraon；Carlos Primero D. Gundran

ECQ ； hypertension ； self-care practices

The Proceeding of the 9th AHLA International Health Literacy Conference: Health Literacy and Social Resilience

2023（2023 / 12 / 01）

39 - 39

英文

Background: Hypertension is among the leading causes of morbidity in the Philippines owing to urbanization and individual lifestyles. Upon the advent of COVID-19 in the Philippines, Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) was imposed from March-May 2020. Mobility restrictions and shifts in focus of the health system affected individual health behaviors and provision of healthcare services for hypertensive patients. Objectives: To understand and describe daily experiences, self-care practices (SCPs), and barriers and facilitators involved in the management of hypertension of selected female hypertensive patients in Marikina City during the ECQ. Methods: Descriptive phenomenological design complemented with purposeful sampling was employed to gather in-depth information regarding lived experiences of female hypertensive patients aged 40-59 in the City of Marikina, specifically SCPs for hypertension management amidst the pandemic-induced ECQ. Results: Inductive thematic analysis using Microsoft Word and Google Sheets following 13 in-depth interviews revealed three themes highlighting health literacy among the hypertensive patients: prioritization (pagpapahalaga), where SCPs were preserved through personal values and social structures; adaptation (pakikibagay), where SCPs were adapted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; and appeal (panawagan), signifying recommendations on government support for hypertensive patients. Conclusion: Findings indicate that changes in individual, social, and macro-level factors brought by the COVID-19 pandemic affected personal and organizational health literacy among patients. Adherence to recommended self-care practices can thereby be strengthened when health awareness is supported by refinement of existing local and national healthcare policies. The authors recommend incorporating more patient-centered approaches like including provisions on what patients can do by themselves in resource-limited settings. Improving health literacy and ensuring patients obtain factual and appropriate guidance on how to manage their hypertension is important in drafting interventions and creating policies for long periods of lockdown.