Evaluation of a sample of Portuguese hypertensive patients' knowledge about hypertension and its influence on their beliefs and adherence to therapy

Ana C Cabral; Marta Lavrador; Fernando Fernandez-Llimos; Margarida Castel-Branco; Isabel Vitória Figueiredo

doi:10.1016/j.repc.2021.02.020

Evaluation of a sample of Portuguese hypertensive patients' knowledge about hypertension and its influence on their beliefs and adherence to therapy

Rev Port Cardiol. 2022 May;41(5):361-367. doi: 10.1016/j.repc.2021.02.020. Epub 2021 Dec 10.

[Article in English, Portuguese]

Authors

Ana C Cabral¹, Marta Lavrador¹, Fernando Fernandez-Llimos², Margarida Castel-Branco¹, Isabel Vitória Figueiredo¹

Affiliations

¹ Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Care Laboratory, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; Institute for Clinical and Biomedical Research (iCBR), Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
² Laboratory of Pharmacology, Department of Drug Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal. Electronic address: fllimos@ff.up.pt.

PMID: 36062634
DOI: 10.1016/j.repc.2021.02.020

Abstract

Introduction and objectives: Patient knowledge about hypertension is an important patient-related determinant for poor blood pressure control and is a target for more effective interventions. We aimed to evaluate hypertensive patients' knowledge and awareness about hypertension and its influence on their beliefs about their medication and their adherence to antihypertensive therapy.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among adult patients attending one of the participating pharmacies and taking at least one antihypertensive drug. Data on personal and family history were collected, and Portuguese versions of the Hypertension Knowledge Test (HKT), Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ), and short version of the Maastricht Utrecht Adherence in Hypertension questionnaire (MUAH-16) were administered.

Results: A total of 240 patients were enrolled. The mean number of antihypertensive drugs used was 1.62±0.99, with 15.4% of patients treated with three or more drugs. More than 80% of patients knew the blood pressure therapeutic goals and identified overweight, sedentary lifestyle, and salt as risk factors for hypertension. Conversely, the majority of the patients were not aware of the asymptomatic characteristics of hypertension and believed that antihypertensive treatment had to be used for a limited time duration. Negative and significant correlations were found between the HKT and negative attitudes toward medication, but no association was found with positive attitudes.

Conclusions: Hypertensive patients had good knowledge of hypertension risk factors but not of antihypertensive treatment. Increasing patient knowledge about hypertension may possibly reduce negative attitudes toward medication but will probably have no impact on positive attitudes.

Keywords: Adesão à terapêutica; Conhecimento em saúde; Health knowledge; Hipertensão; Hypertension; Medication adherence; Questionnaires; Questionários.