A longitudinal study of symptoms beliefs in hypertension

A longitudinal study was conducted to assess the presence of beliefs about symptoms related to hypertension and the time since diagnosis in which they appear. A randomly selected sample of hypertensive patients (67% women, mean age 53.27 years and range 20- 65) was divided into four groups according...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Granados, Genoveva, Gil Roales-Nieto, Jesús, Gil Luciano, Ana, Moreno San Pedro, Emilio|||0000-0002-3329-5517, Márquez Hernández, Verónica
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2015
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Huelva (UHU)
Repositorio:Arias Montano. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:rabida.uhu.es:10272/14999
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10272/14999
https://dx.doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijchp.2015.07.001
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Beliefs
Hypertension
Symptoms
Adherence
Descriptive survey study
Creencias
Hipertensión
Síntomas
Descripción
Sumario:A longitudinal study was conducted to assess the presence of beliefs about symptoms related to hypertension and the time since diagnosis in which they appear. A randomly selected sample of hypertensive patients (67% women, mean age 53.27 years and range 20- 65) was divided into four groups according to the time from diagnosis. All patients (N = 171) were interviewed at the beginning (initial assessment) and 12 months later (final assessment) and the patients (n = 75) who did not report beliefs about symptoms at the initial assessment were interviewed in a follow-up schedule. The results showed that 56% of patients reported beliefs about symptoms at the initial assessment, and this percentage increased to 77% at the final assessment (p < .001) finding significant differences between the two groups with a more recent diagnosis and the two groups of long-standing patients. Longitudinal analysis of the group with the recent diagnosis showed that the critical period for the emergence of beliefs was the first year from diagnosis. This period could be decisive in order to prevent them. Healthcare professionals should pay attention to the emergence of these beliefs, as they could negatively affect treatment adherence.