Blood Pressure and Nutrition Study

Hypertension affects 1 out of 4 Canadians and is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The Canadian Cardiovascular Society recommends health behaviour changes, such as diet interventions, as the first-line treatment. Registered dietitians have specialized training and proven efficacy in delivering nutrition education for hypertension management. It is unknown whether Ontarians are receiving nutrition education from healthcare providers or have access to Registered Dietitians. The primary aim of this study is to understand if adults with hypertension living in Ontario, Canada, are being provided nutrition education for blood pressure management. It is predicted that most Ontarians are provided limited nutrition education from any healthcare professional, and referrals to dietitians are not typically made. Barriers to accessing dietitian services may include a lack of awareness, finances and uncertainty about where to find a dietitian. A mixed-method online survey will be conducted on adults (18 or older) who are prescribed at least one blood pressure medication and do not have a history of or currently living with diabetes, cancers, and/or kidney disease. A telephone survey option is available as needed. Convenient and snowball sampling methods will be used to recruit potential participants through four avenues: physical posters, online classified listings, social media, and emails to publicly available contacts.