Dados do Trabalho

Título

"Discovering yourself": the knowledge of the hypertensive patients of Ambulatório Ciências Médicas about hypertension and about the medicine that they use regularly: how information impacts on adherence to the treatment ?

Resumo

Introduction: Systemic arterial hypertension represents the most significant modifiable risk factor for global all-cause morbidity and mortality and is correlated with an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease. Management primarily relies on lifestyle modifications and pharmacotherapy to mitigate associated complications. Various factors influence patient adherence to treatment, with knowledge emerging as a pivotal modifiable determinant. Investigating the correlation between hypertensive patients' disease knowledge and treatment adherence is therefore imperative. Purpose: To assess the understanding of hypertensive patients concerning their condition and therapeutic regimen and to delineate its relationship with treatment adherence. Methods: This cross-sectional observational study included patients previously diagnosed with hypertension who were on antihypertensive medication. Following recruitment, participants underwent an evaluation administered by researchers utilizing a designated questionnaire. Results: A total of 236 patients were enrolled, with 25% aged between 51-60 years and 37% between 61-70 years. Females constituted 58% of the cohort. A statistically significant correlation was observed between lower scores in the knowledge questionnaire and lower educational attainment, misconceptions regarding hypertension definition, inaccurate blood pressure readings for diagnosis, irregular medication adherence, and inadequate information provision about their condition. Among the participants, 57% exhibited irregular treatment adherence, and 53% failed to review their prescriptions. Notably, in the group with lower knowledge scores, 66% demonstrated poorer scores on the adherence questionnaire, underscoring the pivotal role of patient understanding of their health condition in treatment adherence. Within the subset of patients exhibiting lower adherence scores, 82% reported not receiving adequate disease-related explanations from healthcare professionals (p value = 0.001). Conclusion: Effective adherence to the prescribed pharmacotherapy hinges on a confluence of social, economic, individual, and systemic factors. Within the hypertension context, our findings elucidate that medication adherence correlates with patients' comprehension levels concerning their clinical condition.

Palavras Chave

Information and Communication; Adherence to Treatment; Systemic Arterial Hypertension.