Document Type : Original Article
Abstract
Objectives: To assess medication adherence, illness perception, beliefs about medications,
to examine their association with blood pressure control among patients in Zagazig
University hospital. Method: A cross-sectional study was held on 259 hypertensive
patients attending Internal Medicine outpatient clinic, Zagazig University hospital. They
underwent complete history taking, comprehensive clinical examination comprising
assessing of their blood pressure. Then the patients completed Modified Morisky scale-8
(MMS-8), brief illness perception (BIPQ) and belief about medication (BMQ)
questionnaires. Results: About 55% and 58% reported poor blood pressure control and
medication adherence respectively. There is statistically significant relation between blood
pressure control and patients’ sex, education, occupation, medication number, IPR causal
domain, family history of hypertension-induced mortality, BIPR score, general overuse,
specific necessity, specific concern, and adherence. There were significant relations
between adherence and patients’ sex, social class, marital status, education, occupation,
duration, medications number, family history of hypertension-induced mortality, IPQ
causal item, general overuse, specific concern, and necessity. Significant risk factors of
both poor control and medication adherence included specific necessity ≤ 9, general
overuse >15 and using 3 to 4 drugs. Male, not working/unskilled increased risk of poor
control. Not working/unskilled workers and skilled worker/free business, disease duration
>5 years, perceiving lifestyle and hereditary as hypertension causes, having secondary
education or higher were significant protectors from poor adherence. Conclusion: Belief
about medications and illness perception were among the predictors of poor medication
adherence and blood pressure control as well. Both can affect blood pressure control
directly or indirectly via influencing adherence.
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