Abstract

ACOSTA GONZALEZ, Magda; DEBS PEREZ, Giselle; DE LA NOVAL GARCIA, Reynaldo  and  DUENAS HERRERA, Alfredo. Knowledge, believes and practices in hypertensive patients related to their therapeutic adherence. Rev Cubana Enfermer [online]. 2005, vol.21, n.3, pp. 1-1. ISSN 1561-2961.

Arterial hypertension is the disease doctors and nurses see the most at the primary health care level. Its prevalence is between 28 % and 32 % on reaching definitive readings of 140/90 mmHg. At about 1 out of 3 Cubans is hypertensive. The magnitude of this health problem leads to the search for treatments and methods that contribute to its reduction, and that's why therapeutic adherence is very important for its control. A descriptive cross-sectional study was undertaken aimed at identifying knowledge, believes and practices of therapeutic adherence in hypertensives of the "Corintia" Polyclinic from September to December, 2003. A survey including variables such as knowledge about arterial hypertension, believes implicit in the components of the model of health believes and practices related to the treatment, was done. More than half of the hypertensives (55.2 %) did not know the factors propitiating arterial hypertension. Only 51.6 % had the necessary risk perception, which had a negative impact on their `practices. Approximately, half of the patients systematically visited the physician's office, fulfilled their treatment and referred having received enough information. It was concluded that the lack of adherence to the patients' treatment was mostly due to the fact that they did not receive sufficient and adequate education and that they did not have health believes allowing them to modify their health conducts or practices.

Keywords : Therapeutic adherence; health believes; practices; arterial hypertension.

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