Abstract

Introduction: Pre-hypertension is a common worldwide disease in 30-50 of the studied population. Diet compliance among pre-hypertensions is one of the most important changes in lifestyle. This study aims to determine compliance dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) among pre-hypertension by using the protection motivation theory. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 165 pre-hypertension individuals in Ferdows city. A researcher-made questionnaire was used to examine the scores of the theory of protection motivation structures. The diet was measured by using a three-day dietary questionnaire. Validity and reliability of the instrument were confirmed. The data were analyzed by means of correlation coefficient, chi-square, and linear regression. Results: The average Dash diet compliance was 25.24 +/- 4.7. There is a significant correlation between all incentive protection structures, except perceived rewards and perceived costs with the intention of diet compliance. Theoretical structures were able to predict 66 of the variance of the intention of diet compliance. Conclusion: According to the ability of the protection motivation theory structures to explain the behavior of a diet, interventions based on the structures of this theory are suggested, in particular to improve the self-efficacy as the strongest predictor of the intention to diet compliance.