A study to assess the effectiveness of a pedagogical program regarding prevention and management of hypertension among the police personnel in Mysuru city

Background of the study: Hypertension has become a significant problem in many developing countries experiencing epidemiological transition from communicable to non-communicable chronic diseases. Literature has documented that strenuous working environment, tight work schedules with round-the-clock service, job demands and insufficient time with the family, that the policemen face in their day-to-day job activities have contributed to an increased incidence of cardiovascular disorders including hypertension among them. Knowledge about the risk factors is an important prerequisite for an individual to implement behavioral changes towards the prevention of chronic diseases. Aim and objective: The aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of a pedagogical program regarding prevention and management of Hypertension among police personnel of Mysuru. Methods: Research design adopted for the study was pre-experimental, one group pre-test, post-test design .Non probability purposive sampling was used to select 100 police personnel for the study. Knowledge of police personnel regarding prevention and management of hypertension was assessed using Structured Knowledge Questionnaire. Pedagogical program on prevention and management of hypertension was conducted for police personnel. Results: The results of the study revealed that pedagogical program was effective in increasing the knowledge of police personnel regarding prevention and management of Hypertension as evidenced by computed paired 't' test which was significant at 0.05 level of significance ('t'99 = 30.88; p Conclusion: The pedagogical program was effective in enhancing the knowledge of police personnel regarding the prevention and management of Hypertension. The study findings stress the increasing responsibility of health professionals in planning and implementing various educational strategies to improve the knowledge of the public regarding prevention and management of Hypertension which in turn help to reduce their risk for Hypertension in their later life.