Behavioral Skills and Hypertension Prevention Practices among Teachers in Selected Secondary Schools in Sagamu Local Government Area, Ogun State, Nigeria

The development of chronic illness such as hypertension among individuals in occupations such as teaching has been associated with a high level of stress and sedentary behaviours. This study, therefore, evaluated the behavioural skills and hypertension prevention practices among secondary school teachers in Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State, Nigeria. This study adopted a cross-sectional design. A Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 418 respondents for the study. A validated semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics at ≤0.05 level of significance. The mean age of the respondents was 42.61±7.79 years. More than half, 250 (59.8%) of the respondents were females, with the majority 375 (89.7%) being married. A greater proportion 313 (74.9%) of the respondents had Bachelor’s degree (B.Sc). While about quarter 105 (25.1%) of them had worked for a period of 6-10 years. Most 299 (71.5%) of the respondents had high behavioral skills towards hypertension prevention. Less than half 192 (45.9%) of the respondents had high prevention practice. Behavioral skills significantly contributed to the prevention practices (Odds ratio= 1.12; CL= 1.05- 1.20; p = 0.001). The study revealed that the teachers had high behavioural skills and low hypertension prevention. It is recommended that the state ministry of education through the state ministry of health should conduct a health education program to improve the hypertension prevention practices of teachers.