Hypertension management during the Covid 19 pandemic Associated psychosocial factors

Abstract

newlineABSTRACT newlineThe lack of immunity against the silent global epidemic of hypertension is a frightening reality. newlineThis non-communicable disease is a call for global attention towards the well-being of a very newlinevaluable system in the human body the cardiovascular / circulatory system. It is estimated newlinethat at least one in four adults in India has hypertension. Effective management of hypertension newlineis reflected in normal blood pressure readings (BP readings), lower manifestation of clinical newlinesymptoms and a good quality of sleep, while the actual hypertension management is achieved newlinethrough compliance behaviour. In this study, hypertension management refers to BP readings, newlinecompliance behaviour, hypertension clinical symptoms, and sleep quality, where each one newlineconstitutes a significant component of hypertension management. Management of newlinehypertension is impacted by psychosocial factors. The term psychosocial connotes newlinepsychological and social factors. Theories of health behaviour examine the role of psychosocial newlinefactors in promoting health behaviour. Each theory has been proposed with its own newlineassumptions and limitations. The common assumption of the theories is the intention of an newlineindividual to execute a health behaviour during the normal period. The COVID-19 pandemic, newlinehowever, was a clear deviation from the norm. During this time, the perceptions of a disease newlinelike hypertension assumed a new significance, severity and susceptibility, emotional arousal newlineand anxiety were high, social norms and subjective norms changed, attitude towards the disease newlineunderwent a sudden change from complacence to seriousness, perception of benefit from health newlinebehaviours were enhanced along with the perception of barriers, motivation to comply was newlinelikely to have changed either in a positive direction or towards learned helplessness, the newlineperception of the behavioural outcome also would have shown leanings towards a positive newlinedirection. Such changes occurred as a result of the risk factor (COVID-19 infection) associated newlinewith the disease condition (hyp