Illness Perception and Self-management of Elderly With Hypertention

Introduction: One of the degenerative diseases that affects the elderly is hypertension, which can impact social interactions, quality of life, and mental health. The perceptions of hypertensive patients who are still diverse are closely related to the way they deal with the disease. The purpose of this study is to identify correlation between illness perception and self-management of elderly with hypertension. Methods: Quantitative method with cross sectional design was approached in this study. 125 participants were involved by using purposive sampling technique. The Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (Brief IPQ) and Hypertension Self-Management Behavior Questionnaire (HSMBQ) were used to measure illness perception and self-management. The correlation of two variables was analyzed by using Pearson Product Moment. Results: The results showed that the average score of illness perception in the elderly with hypertension was 50.34 (range 0-80) and self-management was 71.18 (range 0-100). Illness perception significantly positively correlated with hypertension self-management of elderly with hypertension (p value < 0.000, r = 0.590), which it means higher the illness perception, it will improve the self-management. Conclusion: This result could be used as data to provide sources of information to the elderly with hypertension to further improve the perception of the disease in relation to daily self-management so that the elderly remain productive.