Optimizing the health of the elderly and menopausal women with self-management health education as an effort to treat hypertension in Talang Jambe Palembang

Elderly people with hypertension are at risk of experiencing severe cardiovascular complications. Self-management education efforts are important to increase patient independence to prevent the severity of hypertension. The purpose of this community service (PKM) is to optimize the health of the elderly and menopausal women through self-management health education as an effort to treat hypertension in Talang Jambe Village, Palembang. This PKM program began with the consolidation of the Health Office and Talang Jambe Health Center to identify participants. There were 41 elderly and menopausal participants who participated in this PKM. At the implementation stage, blood pressure, knowledge and behavior were checked. The intervention was given in four sessions with a duration of 60 minutes. The evaluation included blood pressure conditions and knowledge, and behavior of participants. A total of 39 participants completed this program. Two participants did not complete it because their health conditions did not allow it. Data analysis used frequency distribution and the Paired T test and Wilcoxon test. The results of the PKM showed a significant increase in the mean knowledge score, from 56.67 ± 6.7 to 86.08 ± 7.63 (p = 0.000), and the mean value for behavior score, from 53.9 ± 6.03 to 85.31 ± 9.24 (p = 0.000). The majority of participants initially reported low levels of activity in terms of exercise frequency, but after the intervention, there was a marked increase, with more respondents exercising three to five times a week. Furthermore, diastolic blood pressure decreased from 108.28 ± 9.8 mmHg to 99.77 ± 10.39 mmHg (p = 0.000), and systolic blood pressure decreased from 197.72 ± 15.16 mmHg to 172.64 ± 10.46 mmHg (p = 0.000). The PKM program has been shown to be effective in improving knowledge, behavior, and blood pressure control in preventing hypertension complications.