Pattern of Medication Belief and Blood Pressure Control among Hypertensive Patients; A Single Centre Study

Abstract

Introduction: Patients’ beliefs about their antihypertensive medications have been found to play an important role in characterizing their adherence patterns and influencing their blood pressure control. This study assessed the relationship between medication beliefs and blood pressure control among adult patients with hypertension attending the General Outpatient Clinic of Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti. Materials and methods: This was a cross-sectional study among 372 adult patients with primary hypertension who had been on treatment for at least 3 months, selected via systematic random sampling. Belief about antihypertensives was assessed using the BMQ-specific scale of the Belief about Medicines Questionnaire. The data collected were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences Software (SPSS) version 25. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 60.99 (± 12.19 years). Male to female ratio was 1:2.4. The majority (81.5%) of the respondents strongly believed in the necessity of their antihypertensive medications. Less than half (44.6%) had optimal blood pressure control. There was no statistically significant relationship between blood pressure control and beliefs about medication. Conclusions: A larger proportion of patients had a stronger belief in the necessity of their antihypertensive medications, most of which had no optimal blood pressure control.

Keywords: Medication, Belief, blood pressure control, Patients, Hypertension