METHODS
Procedures
We used a quasi-experimental, pre-post design.
Prior to this study, an 8-week pilot study with six
hypertensive patients was conducted to test feasibility
of the methods. Findings from the pilot
study supported the feasibility of conducting the
study with a larger group of participations. For the
main study, data were collected before and after
an 8-week empowerment intervention. The study
was conducted from March 2011 to July 2011.
Sample and setting
All 105 hypertensive patients who visited a public
health center in Seoul, Korea were given the
opportunity to participate in the study. Local
newspapers and posters were also used in the
recruiting process. A total of 70 patients showed
interest in the study and attended the presentation
meeting on the study program. Of the 70
patients, 57 agreed to participate in the program.
Patients were given the opportunity to choose to
participate in either the experimental or the control
group. By giving them a choice from the start,
it was reasoned that their adherence to the study
would be better.
To determine sample size, Cohen’s (1998) table
was used. A sample size of 52, or 26 in each group,
was required to detect a large difference (d = 0.80)
between two independent sample means at
α = 0.05 and a power = 0.80. To be eligible for
the study, participants had to: (1) be aged 35 years
or older; and (2) have a diagnosis of hypertension
made by a physician or be on antihypertensive medication for more than one year. Potential participants
were excluded if they had severe hypertension
(defi ned as SBP ≥180 mmHg and/or DBP
≥120 mmHg) at the time of enrollment, or had
been told not to participate in exercise training by
their physicians or had any physical limitation that
would prevent exercise. The study was approved
by the appropriate ethics committee in the public
health center in Seoul, Korea. All participants gave
signed informed consent.