Background: The Government of Indonesia has provided a Chronic Disease Management Program, better known as PROLANIS, to reduce the incidence of hypertension; however, the prevalence of hypertension remains high in the community, especially in Belitung, Indonesia, which warrants further investigation. One of the strategies to decrease the number of hypertensions is by addressing barriers and challenges in hypertension management according to patients’ points of view, which has become a lack of focus in previous studies.Purpose: This study aimed to explore the barriers and challenges of patients in managing hypertension in Belitung, Indonesia.Methods: This research employed a qualitative descriptive study design with 20 hypertensive patients who had access to the PROLANIS program in public health centers. Focus group discussions were conducted for data collection. The content analysis was used for data analysis.Results: Six themes were developed from the data, including (1) Dietary habits: the role of salt, (2) Nonadherence to medication due to the use of traditional medicine, (3) Shopping habit on nonprescription medication, (4) Confusion of anti-hypertensive drugs, (5) Barriers to physical exercise, and (6) Health monitoring and education.Conclusion: This study serves as an input for nurses and healthcare providers to improve the PROLANIS program, especially in hypertension management, as well as to develop new nursing interventions according to the barriers and challenges.

Background: The prevalence of persons with hypertension remains high, especially in Southeast Asia, such as in Indonesia. Therefore, an effort to control blood pressure is needed. This study aimed to examine the effect of a self-management program on blood pressure among persons with hypertension in Indonesia. Materials and Methods: A quasi-experimental study with pre-test post-test with control group design was used. Seventy-seven participants were selected using convenience sampling in Belitung, Indonesia. A digital sphygmomanometer was used to measure blood pressure. Paired t -test and independent t -test were used for data analysis. Knowledge of hypertension, diet, exercise, and medication records were measured via validated questionnaires and observation sheets. Results: There was a significant effect of the eight-week self-management program on systolic blood pressure ( t 30 = 6.45, p = 0.01) and diastolic blood pressure ( t 30 = 2.53, p = 0.02). A significant difference in blood pressure was also identified between the experiment and control group, particularly in systolic blood pressure ( t 59 = –2.89, p = 0.05) with a large effect size (0.71). Conclusions: Brisk walking with a duration of at least 30 minutes per day, dietary modification program specifically focusing on weight loss and anti-hypertensive food, monitoring program, and health education for eight weeks, are considered effective to control blood pressure among patients with hypertension, and these interventions should be a part of nursing interventions and sustainable health development programs in the community.

Obese individuals with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) are at risk for developing overt diabetes and cardiovas- cular diseases (CVD). This study aimed to examine the effects of 12 weeks of a functional exercise training (FET) programme in obese individuals with IGT. Sixteen males and females university staff, aged 50.4±1.3 years (43 to 59 yrs) with mean BMI ≥25 kg/m² (WHO Asian Guidelines) and IGT were randomly divided into the functional exercise training (FET) group or the control (CON) group. Both groups underwent the baseline assessments, including an- thropometric measurements, exercise capacity, oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), and blood chemistry analysis. All testing was repeated at 12 weeks post-intervention. The FET groups engaged in the FET programme, and the CON group carried out normal daily physical activity, including walking. After the intervention, the FET group showed significant changes in exercise capacity, body weight (BW), BMI, waist circumference, triglycerides, fasting plasma insulin (FPI), 2 hrs glucose, and glucose AUC (p<0.05) while the CON group only exhibited an improvement in HDL-C (p<0.05). The study showed that the FET programme improves exercise capacity and alters cardiometabolic param- eters. It can be an alternative form of exercise for managing obesity and improves glycaemic control in those at risk.

Introduction Persons with lower-limb differences are increasingly seeking out a means to participate in sport and running activities. Suspension of the running-specific prosthesis (RSP) during high-intensity running is crucial for safety and optimal running performance. The vacuum-assisted socket system (VASS) provides enhanced proprioception and residual limb volume stability during walking; however, utilization of the VASS in an individual fit with an RSP has yet to be explored in case or empirical studies. We report outcomes of a recreational running transtibial prosthesis user wearing a novel VASS-RSP. Methods A 33-year-old man with transtibial amputation was provided an RSP with a VASS and performed outcome measures while wearing the VASS-RSP and non–VASS-RSP. He performed a series of straight and counterclockwise (CCW) curve track 40-m runs while speed gates recorded split and total time. The patient also performed a 10-minute treadmill run oxygen consumption was determined, and Socket Comfort Scores (SCS) were recorded. Results No significant differences in track running trials were observed; straight track running speeds were similar VASS (5.37 ± 0.06 m/s) and non–VASS-RSP (5.37 ± 0.16 m/s), [t(1) = 0.320, P = 0.979]. Curve track speeds improved while wearing the VASSRSP (4.72 ± 0.09 m/s) compared with the non–VASS-RSP (4.66 ± 0.03 m/s) [t(2) = 0.846, P = 0.487]. Speeds were significantly faster during straight track running (5.37 ± 0.08 m/s) than during curve track running (4.70 ± 0.07 m/s) when both RSP configurations were combined [t(4) = 15.8, P = 0.001]. Net oxygen consumption reduced while wearing VASS-RSP (24.6 mL/kg per minute) compared with non–VASS-RSP (29.2 mL/kg per minute). Socket comfort during outcome measures improved 33% while wearing the VASS-RSP. Conclusions The patient preferred using the VASS-RSP while performing running exercises, and some outcome measures comparing the two suction suspension systems support the patient values. The novel VASS system should be further tested to determine potential utility for running exercise and sport interventions for persons with amputation.