Research Article

Assessing Barriers to and Level of Adherence to Hypertension Therapy among Palestinians Living in the Gaza Strip: A Chance for Policy Innovation

Table 1

Sociodemographic characteristics of the participants.

VariableFrequencyPercentage

Age (N = 634)
Mean (minimum/maximum)59.0 (±11.49) years (23–88 years)
≤3091.4
31–40 years314.9
41–50 years9515.0
51–60 years23436.9
61–70 years17227.1
>70 years9314.7

Sex (N=649)
Males25339.0
Females39561.0

Marital status (N = 642)
Married50979.3
Single325.0
Widow8312.9
Divorced182.8

Level of education (N = 638)
None7511.8
Primary10716.8
Preparatory13120.5
High school17627.6
Diploma538.3
Bachelor8913.9
Postgraduate studies71.1

Smoking (N = 647)
Yes558.5
No54283.8
Previous smoker507.7
Number of cigarettesRange: (1–40) cigarettes/dayMean: 13.9 (7.90)
Age started smokingRange: (10–49) yearsMean: 20.4 (7.26)

Smoking water pipe or vape (N = 647)
Yes71.1
No62596.6
Previous smoker152.3

Exercise and walking (N = 648)
Yes42465.4
No22434.6
1-2 times a week19445.5
3-4 times a week10123.7
5–7 times a week13130.8