Home blood pressure monitoring: a survey of potential users.

Fifty respondents were surveyed using a recently developed questionnaire designed to evaluate the educational needs of the users of self-monitoring blood pressure apparatus. The categories evaluated included each subject's background and family health history, general knowledge about blood pressure, lifestyle factors affecting blood pressure, and factors affecting the measurement of blood pressure, as well as questions about owning a home monitor and recalibration and maintenance factors. The results indicate considerable disparity between the subjects' levels of knowledge about lifestyle factors affecting blood pressure and the subjects' knowledge of factors essential to accurate self-monitoring of blood pressure. The implications of and need for the design of educational training protocols are discussed.