PROVIDING HYPERTENSION EDUCATION TO AFRICAN IMMIGRANTS AT A SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CONGREGATION DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Objective: To review methods that could contribute to improved knowledge of hypertension among African immigrants at a California congregation. The difference in the management and outcomes of hypertension between African Americans and Whites is most disparate in cardiovascular disease, with lack of education documented as a major contributor for African Americans (Lackland, 2014) and African immigrants (Turson-Ocran et al., 2020). African Americans differ slightly in culture, health, and migration history from Africans who are 21st century immigrants from Africa (African immigrants); however, there are more similarities than differences between them (Terrazas, 2009). This brief report will describe a Doctor of Nursing Practice project to address lack of hypertension knowledge among African immigrants. Design: This project will utilize a focus group approach; and pre and post survey tools to assess and evaluate knowledge. Setting: A church in Southern California of about 150 congregants. Participants: Twenty adult African immigrants diagnosed with or self-reported hypertension. Methods: As part of African culture, storytelling will be utilized in the delivery of hypertension education. Pre- and post-intervention surveys will be used to assess and evaluate knowledge. Results: Participants will report knowledge and consequences of uncontrolled hypertension before and after the education. Conclusion: Findings may demonstrate the importance of evidence-based hypertension education among African immigrants in a culturally important setting like a church, identify barriers and facilitators of hypertension self-management, and may suggest a need for redesign of hypertension education strategies in African immigrants, such as storytelling which considers the importance of culture in health