With the changing disease dynamics, in which a rising proportion of diseases are attributed to poor lifestyle choices, preventive and health promotion activities are beneficial in halting a disease process, either before it develops or during its progression. Primary disease prevention refers to the efforts to forestall an illness or injury from occurring, and it is accomplished by avoiding exposure to hazards that cause the disease/injury and changing unhealthy habits that may predispose one to a disease/injury (CDC, 2022).
Examples of primary preventive methods include but are not limited to, education on healthy and safe living behaviors such as physical fitness, vaccination against infectious illnesses, and policy enforcement to prohibit the use of hazardous items (CDC, 2022). Because hypertension is the most prevalent risk factor for cardiovascular events, considerable efforts must be made to develop preventative interventions.
Thus, hypertension control relies primarily on primary prevention and health promotion efforts, notably lifestyle choices. As a result, with a glimpse of the influence of primary prevention on illnesses, the goal of the subsequent section of this paper is to propose a community teaching plan for the primary prevention of hypertension, with the church as the target audience.
Table 1
Planning for Teaching
| Topic | Hypertension: Primary Prevention and Health Promotion |
| Name of the Teacher | |
| Credentials of the Teacher | |
| Location of Teaching | Woodbridge Church, Virginia |
| Estimated Time | Four sessions, 45 minutes each |
| Supplies, Materials, and Equipment needed. | Laptop, projector, notebooks
Brochures and other print materials containing information on hypertension and primary prevention strategies. |
| Estimated Cost | $200 |
| Community and Target Audience | Congregants at Woodbridge Church in Virginia, as well as residents of the broader Woodbridge census-designated place in Virginia |
Hypertension continues to debilitate many patients worldwide. The continued rise in the prevalence of hypertension is attributed to increased participation in unhealthy lifestyle habits such as physical inactivity, poor diet, alcohol consumption, and cigarette smoking. The lifestyle habits that contribute to the prevalence of hypertension serve as the foundation for primary prevention strategies. In 2010, 1.38 billion people, or 31.1% of the world’s adult population, had hypertension, defined as systolic blood pressure of ≥140 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure of ≥90 mm Hg (Mills et al., 2020).
According to the World Health Organization (2021), approximately 1.28 adults aged 30-79 years have hypertension worldwide. However, the prevalence varies across the globe, with factors such as geographical region, economic strength, and gender influencing the difference. High-income regions have a low prevalence of hypertension (28.5%), whereas low-to-middle-income countries have a disproportionately higher prevalence (31.5%) (Mills et al., 2020). When it comes to age, men have a slightly higher prevalence of hypertension (31.9%) than women (30.1%) (Mills et al., 2020).
Despite efforts to reduce the prevalence of the condition, 46% of adults with hypertension are still unaware that they have it (WHO, 2021). Furthermore, only about half (42%) of adults with hypertension are diagnosed and treated, and approximately one in every five adults (21%) has it under control (WHO, 2021). The statistics show a flagrant gap in hypertension awareness, detection, and management, justifying the need for a community teaching plan proposal.
The morbidity, mortality, and economic consequences of hypertension are severe. Hypertension is responsible for a substantial number of cardiovascular events and premature deaths. In 2015, the estimated total number of fatalities due to systolic blood pressure of ≥110-115 mm Hg was 10.7 million, accounting for 19.2% of all deaths globally (Mills et al., 2020).
Furthermore, the total number of fatalities related to systolic blood pressure ≥140 mm Hg was 7.8 million, accounting for 14.0% of all deaths worldwide (Mills et al., 2020). Ischemi
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