The relationship between trust, belief and adherence among patients who complain of hypertension in Ghana.
Kennedy Dodam Konlan, Kennedy Diema Konlan, Juliana Asibi Abdulai and 4 others
PMID 37211746WHAT IT FOUND
In 447 patients with hypertension in Ghana, only 36.9% reported adhering to treatment.
Those who trusted or believed in hospital care were much more likely to report adherence.
Key findings
01Most respondents did not believe in current hospital hypertension treatment (65.3%), and only 32.4% said they trusted it.
02Only 36.9% of respondents reported adhering to treatment.
03In adjusted analysis, trust was associated with 17.45 times higher odds of adherence, and belief was associated with 30.14 times higher odds.
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 measured trust, belief and adherence at a single point in time, so it cannot show that trust or belief caused adherence. Trust and belief were measured only as yes or no answers, not with a validated scale, so these variables are weakly defined. Adherence was self-reported, which may overstate how much patients actually took their medicines. The study was done at a single hospital in Accra, so the findings may not apply to other areas of Ghana or other countries. The sample excluded patients older than 65 years and people with signs of mental illness, so it says little about older or cognitively impaired patients.
Declared interests
There was no funding for the study, and the authors declared no competing or financial interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the large adjusted associations as proof that building trust or belief will improve adherence. This was a cross-sectional survey at a single hospital, and trust and belief were measured with simple yes or no questions, so it can only show association, not cause.