Wroclaw Universities students knowledge about arterial hypertension

Abstract

Background Incidence of arterial hypertension among adult Poles in 2002 was 29%. In this group only 67% were conscious of the disease. In conditions of the difficult epidemiologic situation health education of young generation seems to be very important. The aim of the study was to determine the extend of knowledge about arterial hypertension in population of Wroclaw University students.
Material and methods Material was based on questionnaires filled by students of the second year of health sciences from the largest public universities in Wroclaw and one non-public postgraduate school. The study was carried out with the use of questionnaire worked out by team of the authors.
Results Responders answered correctly 73.11% questions. A question about the lower limit of systemic arterial hypertension was correctly answered in 49.58%. In 89.16% of the participants the knowledge of the optimal blood pressure was sufficient, and 60.41% of them were conscious of their self arterial blood pressure values. There were statistically significant differences in some answers between men and women, between inhabitants of cities and villages, and, eventually, between students from various universities.
Conclusions The knowledge of randomly selected students of Wroclaw universities is only slightly better than the knowledge of a random Pole. Answers filled by the students are characterized by identical as in whole populationimproper assumptions about causes and health complications of arterial hypertension. In order to improve a nonconvenient epidemiological situation it would be necessary to include health problems topics in programs of all Polish universities. Arterial Hypertension 2007, vol. 11, no 5, pages 418-427.