The Level of Illness Perception and its Relationship with Adherence to the Medical Regimen in the Elderly with Hypertension

Hypertension is one of the major causes of disability. Illness perception is an important predictor for adherence to therapeutic regimens. The current study aimed at determining the relationship between adherence to a regimen and illness perception among elderly with hypertension.
The current descriptive, analytical, cross sectional study was performed on 325 elderly people with hypertension referring to the elderly health centers of Tehran, Iran, selected via the random cluster sampling method in 2016. The data gathering instrument was the demographic questionnaire, Morisky medication adherence scale (MMAS), and illness perception questionnaire-revised (BIPQ-r). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient, and regression coefficient with SPSS version18.
Pearson correlation coefficient showed that there was a significant direct correlation between perceived disease and adherence to treatment in the elderly with hypertension (P The results showed that there is a significant relationship between adherence to a regimen and illness perception. Therefore, strengthening the perception of the disease in order to increase adherence regimens in patient is considered as an important strategy in educational interventions.