Blood pressure monitoring. Older adults' perceptions.

The purpose of this article is to report the qualitative findings on older adults' perceptions of blood pressure measurement and its meaning to their health. The convenience sample consisted of 51 community-dwelling older adults who were recruited from either wellness clinics or a senior citizens' club. Data were collected through in-depth audiotaped interviews. Participants' responses were analyzed by identifying topics, patterns, and themes. The following three themes emerged: provision of reassurance, decision-making leading to self-care activities, and reliance on health care professionals. These findings can be used by community health nurses, especially those in gerontology to gain insight into how a sample of older adults perceived blood pressure monitoring. In addition, the findings can serve as guidelines for nurses in the provision of effective hypertension management with older adults.