Rev Rene (Sep 2019)
Beliefs of individuals with systemic arterial hypertension related to drug treatment
Abstract
Objective: to analyze behavioral, normative and control beliefs related to drug treatment for hypertension. Methods: cross-sectional study, based on the Planned Behavior Theory, conducted with 28 people on continuous use of antihypertensive drugs, in outpatient follow-up. A form with six open questions was used, applied by structured and individual interviews, audio recorded and submitted to content analysis. Results: among the behavioral beliefs, blood pressure control stood out as the main advantage, and unpleasant symptoms stood out as a disadvantage. Regarding normative beliefs, the most cited positive social references were the children. As for control beliefs, acquiring for free and forgetting the time to take them were pointed as the main ease and difficulty, respectively. Conclusion: the analysis of beliefs allowed the elucidation of those that may positively or negatively influence the behavior of “taking the prescribed pills for the control of hypertension”, target of different interventions in health services.
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