Effectiveness of an Empowerment Program on Behavioral Modification for Stroke Prevention among Older Adults with Hypertension in Lahan Subdistrict Health Promoting Hospital, Chatturat District, Chaiyaphum Province

Abstract

This quasi-experimental study evaluated the effectiveness of an empowerment program in promoting stroke prevention behaviors among older adults with hypertension in the catchment area of Lahan Subdistrict Health Promoting Hospital, Chatturat District, Chaiyaphum Province, Thailand. A two - group pretest - posttest design was employed. Forty participants were recruited through simple random sampling and randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 20) and a control group (n = 20). The experimental group participated in an eight - week empowerment program based on Gibson’s empowerment framework, comprising four phases: 1) recognizing personal health conditions, 2) critical reflection, 3) developing and implementing appropriate action plans, and 4) maintaining positive health behaviors. Research instruments included a demographic questionnaire and a stroke prevention behavior questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, paired t - test, and independent t - test. The findings showed that, after the intervention, the experimental group demonstrated significantly higher stroke prevention behavior scores than at baseline and compared with the control group (p - value < 0.001). The greatest improvement was observed in physical activity behavior. The results indicate that the empowerment program effectively enhanced stroke prevention behaviors among older adults with hypertension. The program should be implemented in community settings with follow - up every 3 – 6 months, supported by village health volunteers to promote long - term maintenance of healthy behaviors.