Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Dec 7:10:2437-2447.
doi: 10.2147/PPA.S117269. eCollection 2016.

Relationship between patients' knowledge and medication adherence among patients with hypertension

Beata Jankowska-Polańska  1 , Izabella Uchmanowicz  1 , Krzysztof Dudek  2 , Grzegorz Mazur  3
Affiliations

Relationship between patients' knowledge and medication adherence among patients with hypertension

Beata Jankowska-Polańska et al. Patient Prefer Adherence. .

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between knowledge on arterial hypertension (AH) and its management, and adherence to pharmaceutical treatment.

Methods: The study included 233 patients diagnosed with AH and treated with hypotensive drugs for at least 1 year. The 8-item © Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) and the Hypertension Knowledge-Level Scale (HK-LS) were used.

Results: Sixty-three percent of the patients had a low level of knowledge on AH, with the smallest proportion of correct answers provided for items related to non-pharmaceutical treatment, diet, hypertension definition, and drug adherence. When compared to patients with a high level of knowledge, those with a low knowledge had lower scores in the MMAS (6.45±1.45 vs 7.08±1.04; P=0.038). Multiple-factor analysis showed that statistically significant independent determinants of good adherence included a high level of knowledge (β=0.208; P=0.001), non-pharmaceutical treatment (β=0.182; P=0.006), and frequent blood pressure measurements (β=0.183; P=0.004). The most significant factor in MMAS was knowledge in the "drug adherence" domain (ρ=0.303; P<0.001).

Conclusion: Patients' knowledge on hypertension is a significant independent determinant of good adherence. Other independent determinants include non-pharmaceutical treatment and regular blood pressure measurements.

Implication for practice: The identification of knowledge deficits as a factor contributing to lack of adherence and poor hypertension control remains a key challenge for multidisciplinary team caring for patients with hypertension.

Keywords: arterial hypertension; medical knowledge; medication adherence.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Histogram of hypertension knowledge scores obtained by 233 patients. Abbreviations: HK-LS, Hypertension Knowledge-Level Scale; K-S, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of correct answer proportions for each HK-LS item in the two groups differentiated by their level of knowledge on hypertension (items with <50% correct answers are marked in red). Abbreviation: HK-LS, Hypertension Knowledge-Level Scale.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comparison of correct answer percentages in the 6 HK-LS domains between the two groups differentiated by their level of knowledge on hypertension. Abbreviation: HK-LS, Hypertension Knowledge-Level Scale.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organization, International Society of Hypertension, Writing Group World Health Organization (WHO) International Society of Hypertension, (ISH) statement on management of hypertension. J Hypertens. 2003;21:1983–1992. - PubMed
    1. Marcum ZA, Zheng Y, Perera S, et al. Prevalence and correlates of self-reported medication non-adherence among older adults with coronary heart disease, diabetes mellitus, and/or hypertension. Res Social Adm Pharm. 2013;9:817–827. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Jokisalo E, Kumpusalo E, Enlund H, Takala J. Patients’ perceived problems with hypertension and attitudes towards medical treatment. J Hum Hypertens. 2001;15:755–761. - PubMed
    1. Szczęch R, Szyndler A, Wizner B, Narkiewicz K. Education of patients with hypertension [w:] In: Januszewicz A, Januszewicz W, Szczepańska-Sadowska E, Sznajderman M, editors. Arterial Hypertension. Kraków: Medycyna Praktyczna; 2007. pp. 1225–1230.
    1. Altun B, Arici M, Nergizoğlu G, et al. Prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension in Turkey (The Patent Study) in 2003. J Hypertens. 2005;23:1817–1823. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources