Effect of educational intervention on knowledge about hypertension and factors predicting adherence to drug therapy

The present study was aimed at identifying the degree of knowledge of people with hypertension about the disease, identifying the factors predicting adherence to therapy and administering intervention. It was a quasi-experimental study involving 600 patients selected by multistage sampling technique. Adherence status was assessed using Morisky medication adherence scale8. Knowledge was measured using an eight-item instrument. Educational intervention in form of group discussions was administered. Values of p ≤ 0.05 were considered statistically significant. BP control was significantly higher in those that adhered to antihypertensive medication compared with non-adhering patients (χ2 = 14.526; df = 1; p-value = < 0.001). Comorbidity and number of antihypertensive drugs the patients were taking were found to be the predictors of adherence. After intervention, the percentage of respondents with good adherence increased from 41.3% to 48.3% (p = 0.369) in the intervention group. Furthermore educational intervention had a positive effect on knowledge of the respondents [from 64% to 66.3% (p= 0.623)] in the intervention group. The results revealed that the educational intervention had positive impact of knowledge of hypertension and its treatment. Additionally, Comorbidity and number of antihypertensive prescribed were found to be the predictors of adherence to medications.