Disease belief, medication belief and adherence to treatment in patients with high blood pressure

Abstract

In arterial hypertension, therapeutic adherence to what is prescribed is an essential requirement to achieve adequate control. Objective: To compare disease beliefs and medication beliefs with adherence to treatment in patients with hypertension without diabetes mellitus. Methodology: Comparative cross-sectional design in hypertensive population with no diabetes, a group of 137 adherent patients and a group of 129 non-adherent patients. Beliefs about the disease and beliefs about the medication were evaluated. Statistical analysis included chi2, odds ratio and confidence interval for odds ratio. Results: In the group of adherent patients, 71.5% have an adequate belief about the disease and in the group of non-adherent patients, 43.4% also have an adequate belief about the disease (p=0.000). When the beliefs about the disease and beliefs about the medication are grouped, there is an association with adherence to treatment in hypertensive patients. Conclusion: There is an association between beliefs about the disease and medication with adherence to antihypertensive treatment.