Trust in medicine may improve adherence to blood pressure meds
Patients with hypertension who had a greater trust in the medical profession had improved adherence to blood pressure medications compared with patients with a lower trust, according to a cross-sectional survey.
The researchers also found that trust was positively associated with physical health, mental health and resilience. They defined resilience as the ability to adapt to difficult life circumstances.
Lead researcher Lilia Meltzer, PhD, a nurse practitioner from the University of California, Los Angeles, presented the results on April 3 in a poster session at the Quality of Care and Outcomes Research scientific sessions in Arlington, Virginia.
“Because adherence to blood pressure lowering medication is a challenge for many people, identifying and understanding how to overcome obstacles that prevent patients from following prescribed treatments may help lower their risk for the serious health consequences of poorly controlled hypertension including stroke and heart attack, and, in turn, may lead to improved health outcomes,” Meltzer said in a news release.
Meltzer noted that 34 percent of adults who are 20 years old or older have hypertension, while 90 percent of patients with uncontrolled hypertension have a provider and health insurance.
During the study, 101 Hispanic adults and 100 non-Hispanic adults completed a cross-sectional survey that included the PROMIS global physical and mental health scales and the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-A. The patients all had hypertension and were treated at a practice with seven cardiologists. The researchers noted that 68 percent of Hispanics and 72 percent of non-Hispanics had their hypertension under control.
The adherence rates to blood pressure medications were 93 percent in patients with higher levels of trust and 82 percent in patients with lower levels of trust. For both groups, patients with higher levels of trust had better adherence regardless of their race or ethnicity.
The researchers found that resilience was not significantly associated with physical health, but it was positively associated with mental health. Meanwhile, medication adherence was not significantly associated with physical or mental health.
Executive Editor
Tim Casey joined TriMed Media Group in 2015 as Executive Editor. For the previous four years, he worked as an editor and writer for HMP Communications, primarily focused on covering managed care issues and reporting from medical and health care conferences. He was also a staff reporter at the Sacramento Bee for more than four years covering professional, college and high school sports. He earned his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA degree from Georgetown University.