Abstract:
Background: The study aims to determine the correlation between family/social support and adherence to treatment in hypertensive
patients.
Methods: This is a cross sectional study. Patients who met the inclusion criteria were recruited by systematic random sampling
technique. A physical examination was done to determine their blood pressure, questionnaires were administered to elicit
sociodemographic characteristics, Family APGAR, Social support and adherence scores. Data collected was analyzed with Statistical
Program for Social Sciences (SPSS)-15.
Results: A total of 120 data sets were analyzed. The mean age of the patients was 56 years ±11.6 with 60% of the patients being
females. The mean duration of hypertension was 8±7 years and the mean number of antihypertensive medication they were on was
2±1. Majority (94%) of the patients had a caring and supportive relationship. Mean adherence score was 1.55±2.06. Adherence rate
was 52.5%. Delay in refill (18.1%), mainly due to financial constraints was the commonest reason for non-adherence. There was a
significant correlation between age group, previous history of symptom, family function and social support with adherence. There
was however no significant correlation between gender, marital status, duration of hypertension, family member with hypertension
and number of medications with adherence.
Conclusion: Medication adherence was good in this population of hypertensives. Family and social support were significant
predictors of good medication adherence.
