Individualized Nursing Intervention: Its Effect on Enhancing Patients’ Adherence to Hypertensive Treatment Plan

Abstract

Background: Hypertension is one of the leading causes of death or disability. Treatment plan of hypertension is a combination of antihypertensive medications, and adoption of healthy life style. Non-adherence to treatment plan is a growing concern to healthcare systems. Therefore, several researches were conducted to investigate factors that might lead to non-adherence to treatment plan as well effect of individualized nursing intervention to improve patients' adherence to such treatment plan. Aim of the study: This study aimed to evaluate effect of individualized nursing intervention on enhancing patients' adherence to hypertensive treatment plan. Method: A quasi experimental study design was used to conduct this study in medical wards in one of the governmental hospitals. A purposeful sampling technique was used according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Eighty four patients participated in this study. Three tools were used for data collection as follows: First tool; patient's demographic data assessment tool. Second tool; self-administered questionnaire tool, to assess factors affecting patients' adherence toward hypertensive treatment plan. Third tool; Hill-Bone Compliance to High Blood Pressure Therapy Scale, this tool was used twice before and after delivering individualized nursing intervention. Results: Revealed that, 57% of the studied sample their adherence were affected by some factors related to the medications, and nearly two third of them their adherence were affected by personal and financial factors. Also, the more increasing in age the more increasing non-adherence to treatment plan; this indicates that the factors affecting young age are different from those of the old age. Patient's adherence toward hypertensive treatment plan significantly improved after delivering the individualized nursing intervention that copes with age related factors and all other individualized ones. Conclusion: The current study proved that individualized nursing intervention is significantly effective on enhancing patients' adherence to hypertensive treatment plan through identifying and managing factors that hinder each patient to be adherent to the described treatment plan. Recommendation: In the light of the study results, the researchers recommended to conduct further studies that assess every age group separately as the factors and problems which hinder their adherence to hypertensive treatment plan among young age were completely different than those of the old age, as well to increase the number of the study sample to generalize the results, and to encourage nurses to follow the individualized care planning approach with their patients.