The Relationship Among Health Beliefs, Depressive Symptoms, Medication Adherence, and Social Support in African Americans With Hypertension.
Telisa Spikes, Melinda Higgins, Arshed Quyyumi and 3 others
PMID 30273259WHAT IT FOUND
In African Americans with hypertension who were taking blood pressure medication, adherence was associated with multiple comorbidities, not with blood pressure beliefs, social support, or depression in this sample.
The study cannot show cause.
Key findings
01Approximately 37.5% (n=45) were classified as non-adherent to blood pressure medication.
02Participants with multiple comorbidities had 2.63 times greater odds of blood pressure medication adherence than those with fewer comorbidities.
03Blood pressure beliefs, social support, and depressive symptoms were not significantly associated with medication adherence.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study analysed baseline data from only 120 participants, so it may not detect true differences. Most participants were female, college-educated, employed, and had an annual income of $40,000 or more, so findings may not apply to African Americans with hypertension who have lower socioeconomic status. Medication adherence, blood pressure beliefs, social support, and depressive symptoms were measured by self-report, which can be biased. The participants had limited variability in scores for beliefs, social support, and depression, which may explain why no associations were found. Because it was a cross-sectional analysis, it cannot show that comorbidities caused better adherence.
Declared interests
The article is listed as supported by NIH extramural research. No conflicts of interest declaration appears in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that health beliefs, social support, or depression are unimportant for medication adherence in African Americans with hypertension. This was a small cross-sectional study with mostly employed, college-educated participants and self-reported measures, so it cannot prove what causes adherence.