Date of Award

11-2025

Document Type

DNP Project

College

School of Nursing

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Department

Nursing

First Advisor

Miriam Morgan-Skinner

Abstract

Background

Although the majority of patients who present are adults over the age of 40 years old; with blood pressures ranging from 140/88 – 190/110 and many times higher readings, it was intriguing and important to assess whether a direct intervention, teaching young adults ages 18 – 39 years the benefits of lifestyle choices would be beneficial as a preventative measure to implement for hypertension reduction patterns as one ages. According to Hinton et al. (2019), hypertension affects 1 in 8 adults between the ages of 20 and 40 years old and is thus common among young people; with the likelihood of that number increasing dependent on lifestyle behavior. Further, hypertension is noted to be the leading modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease and mortality, and affects one-quarter of the global population.

Purpose Statement

The purpose of this proposed scholarly project is to implement a Christian based hypertension intervention program to measure the difference in students’ blood pressure levels before attending the program, and at the end of this six weeks program.

Methods

A pre-post interventional design was used. Participants completed a 6-week lifestyle modification program incorporating nutrition, exercise, water intake, sunlight, temperance, fresh air, rest, and trust in God. Blood pressure was measured before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Wilcoxon signed rank tests to examine changes in systolic and diastolic pressures.

Results

Findings demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure from pre- to post-intervention (p = 0.0001). Median systolic blood pressure decreased from 130 mmHg to 125 mmHg, while median diastolic pressure showed a similar downward trend. Participants also reported improvements in health awareness, motivation, and engagement with spiritual-based wellness strategies.

Conclusion

A faith-integrated NEWSTART hypertension prevention program is effective in reducing blood pressure among young adults in a Christian community setting. These results highlight the importance of early lifestyle intervention and demonstrate that holistic, spiritually grounded health programs can positively influence cardiovascular risk factors in later adulthood.

Subject Area

Hypertension in young adults; Hypertension--Michigan--Prevention

Download

Share

COinS