Análisis de los factores que determinan la adherencia terapéutica del paciente hipertenso

Abstract

Introduction: Poor adherence to treatment in chronic diseases such as hypertension currently remains a latent problem in our country. Although the Health Education is been used in different levels of health care to improve adherence to drug therapy and acquisition of healthy lifestyles, there is little evidence of their effectiveness, especially in hypertensive patients, refractory to change their hygienic-dietary habits.
Objective: This study was realized with the aim of learning personal motivations involved in changing habits, adherence and knowledge of the disease in a group of hypertensive patients.
Method: Phenomenological study in the hospital setting, using semi- structured interviews. The sample was made of eighteen patients with uncontrolled levels of blood pressure associated with metabolic syndrome and / or obesity (BMI>30). These patients are been visited by the health care team of Nephrology UGC/Hypertension, in the Hospital Universitario Reina Sofía of Córdoba, since last January.
Results: Three thematic categories with which to answer our study objectives, have been found: Raising awareness about cardiovascular risk to which they are exposed and knowledge of the disease itself, justifying the reasons which motivate or retract the hypertensive patient to adhere to treatment, and relationship between compliance pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment.
Conclusion: The lack of adherence to treatment is showed up by unwillingness among hypertensive patients refractory, rather than an information problem. For this reason, a nursing intervention focused on solving the problem, is necessary.