Drug treatment of hypertensive patients applying to primary care and evaluation of dietary compliance

Introduction: Hypertension is a cardiovascular disease affecting the majority of the adult population worldwide and is substantially preventable. The aim of the study was to determine the compliance of diet and the medication used by hypertensive patients admitted to the family health center and the factors affecting them. Materials and Methods: Our descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out with 400 hypertension patients who had applied to 6 family health centers in Afyonkarahisar between June 1 and July 31, 2020. Personal Information Form, Antihypertensive Compliance Scale, Beliefs for Dietary Compliance Scale, and International Physical Activity Questionnaire were used for data collection. SPSS 20 program was used for statistical analysis and p<0.05 was accepted as significant. Results: The mean age of the participants was 60.79±9.09, 61.5% of them were female, 52.3% were primary school graduates, 87.3% were married and 56% were housewives. The mean body mass index of the participants is 31.92±4.80 kg/m²; mean waist circumference 102.52± 9.77 cm; mean systolic blood pressure 133.77±15.18 mmHg; mean diastolic blood pressure 83.42 ±9.87 mmHg. The blood pressure of 76.3% of the participants is higher than 140/90 mmHg. Average years of hypertension diagnosis of participants 9.74±6.80 and 79.5% are compatible with antihypertensive medication therapy. It has been found that those who are male, married, civil servant, university graduate, living in the city center, having good health perception and well controlled blood pressure, and having had a diagnosis of hypertension for 11 years or more have a higher compliance with antihypertensive medications. The belief that an antihypertensive diet is effective in treatment has been found to be lower in men, in married couples and those living with their spouse. It was observed that their overall physical activity decreased with the increase in the age and the duration of the hypertension diagnosis as well as the decrease in their educational level. Conclusion and Recommendations: The antihypertensive medication and dietary compliance of the participants, who were university graduates with good health perception and managed to keep their blood pressure under control were found to be higher. General practitioners serving as the prime caregivers of patients and providing ongoing healthcare play a significant responsibility to keep hypertension under control and prevent complications. Keywords: Hypertension, Medication Compliance, Dietary Compliance, Physical Activity, Family Health Center