Factors related to the non-adherence of medication and nonpharmacological recommendations in high blood pressure patients

Arabic translation and cultural adaptation of Hill-Bone compliance to high blood pressure therapy scale

Background

Adherence to prescription medications is vital to the success of any treatment plan, especially for chronic health conditions, such as hypertension (HTN). Although there are different scales used in assessing adherence to prescription medications, most if not all, of those scales are not available in Arabic. The absence of essential assessment tools makes the appraisal of adherence to prescription medications very difficult for native Arabic speakers. Therefore, this study aimed to translate and validate the Hill-Bone Compliance to High Blood Pressure Therapy (CHBPT) scale, which is commonly used to assess adherence to antihypertensive medications, among a sample of Arabic-speaking patients with HTN.

Methods

This was a single-center cross-sectional study that took place at a university-affiliated hospital. It interviewed adult (≥18 years) patients with HTN who were visiting the primary care clinics between January and November 2020. Non-Arabic speakers, those under 18 years of age, individuals without a diagnosis of HTN, and patients without any previously filled prescription medications for HTN within the past three months were excluded. The forward-backward translation method was used after receiving permission from the originators of the questionnaire to translate their scale to Arabic. Test-retest and Cronbach alpha methods were used to assess the reliability. Principal component analysis with varimax rotation was used to examine the construct validity.

Results

One hundred and forty-one patients consented and participated in the study. Most of the patients were ≥ 50 years old (75 %), male (72 %), and had another chronic health condition besides HTN (99 %). The translated scale had good internal consistency (Cronbach alpha = 0.83) and reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.9). The Kaiser-Meyer-Oklin was 0.82 indicating adequate sampling to conduct factor analysis; hence, three factors (e.g., subscales) were extracted similar to the original scale. The mean scores for appointment keeping, medication taking, and reducing sodium intake subscales, as well as for the overall scale were 5.62 ± 1.39, 33.94 ± 3.87, 9.73 ± 2.1, and 49.29 ± 5.21, respectively.

Conclusion

The translated version of the Hill-Bone CHBPT scale has both good reliability and validity and will hopefully help healthcare providers assess and monitor HTN patients' adherence to their antihypertensive medication regimens. Multicenter studies should be conducted to verify the validity and reliability of the translated questionnaire among different Arabic-speaking patient populations with HTN.

A Systematic Review of the Hill-Bone Compliance to Blood Pressure Therapy Scale

Background

Poor medication adherence hampers hypertension control and increases the risk of adverse health outcomes. Medication adherence can be measured with direct and indirect methods. The Hill-Bone Compliance to High Blood Pressure Therapy (HBCHBPT) Scale, one of the most popular adherence measures, indirectly assesses adherence to hypertension therapy in three behavioral domains: appointment keeping, diet and medication adherence.

Aim

To synthesize evidence on the use of the HBCHBPT Scale, including psychometric properties, utility in diverse patient populations, and directions for future clinical use and research.

Methods

We searched electronic databases, specifically CINAHL, PubMed, PsychInfo, Embase, and Web of Science. We included original studies that used the HBCHBPT Scale or its subscales to measure a health outcome, or methodological studies involving translations and validations of the scale. We extracted and synthesized data following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines.

Results

Fifty studies were included in this review, 44 on hypertension, two on diabetes, and others on other chronic conditions. The scale was successfully translated into numerous languages and used in descriptive and intervention studies. The scale demonstrated sound psychometric properties (Cronbach's α coefficient 0.75) and sensitivity to capture intervention effects when used to evaluate the effectiveness of high blood pressure adherence interventions. The medication-taking subscale of HBCHBPT performs best and is widely used in diverse contexts to assess medication adherence for chronic conditions.

Conclusion

The HBCHBPT Scale has high versatility globally and has been used in various settings by various healthcare worker cadres and researchers. The scale has several strengths, including high adherence phenotyping capabilities, contributing to the paradigm shift toward personalized health care.

Non-adherence to antihypertensive medications in Lebanese adults hospitalized for hypertensive urgency and its cost

BACKGROUND

Drug non-adherence is assumed to play an important role in development of hypertensive urgency, which is a common health problem resulting in frequent emergency department admissions and thus increased healthcare spending wastage. The objective of this study is to assess the rate of non-adherence to antihypertensives and to evaluate influencing factors predicting this behavior in Lebanese hypertensive adults. In addition, this study aim to estimate the cost of hospitalization for hypertensive urgency covered by the Ministry of Public Health in patients' non-adherent to their antihypertensives.

METHODS

A multi-methods approach is used comprising a cross-sectional study, additionally to an observational, retrospective, cost of illness study. A cross-sectional questionnaire based study is conducted from May to Dec, 2019 to address the study objective. Using the Ministry of Public Health hospitalization data during 2019, the cost of hospitalization for hypertensive urgency is assessed. Multivariable analysis is performed to calculate the adjusted odd ratios by fitting a logistic regression model.

RESULTS

The cross-sectional study includes 494 participants and shows that 43.0% of patients hospitalized and covered by the Ministry of Public Health are non-adherent. The univariate regression model shows that adherence to antihypertensive medications is significantly associated with age (p-value = 0.005) and follow-up visits (p-value = 0.046). The odds of adherence for participants earning more than USD 2000 was 3.27 times that for those who earn less than USD 1000 (p = 0.026). The estimated cost of hospitalization for non-adherent patients is USD 452,353 in 2019.

CONCLUSION

Non-adherence associated hospitalization costs represents a financial burden to Lebanese health system.

[Antihypertensive Effect of Switching to a Fixed Perindopril/Amlodipine Combination in Patients Ineffectively Treated by Free Sartan-Containing Combinations. Results of the AVANGARD Study]

Finding the best options for combined antihypertensive therapy is one of the main tasks to be solved for achieving target blood pressure (BP) and, accordingly, reduction of the risk of complications in patients with arterial hypertension (AH).Purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the perindopril arginine/amlodipine fixed combination in patients with 1-2 degree hypertension not achieving BP control on previous therapy with sartan-containing free combinations.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In the multicenter open uncontrolled observational program AVANGARD 203 doctors in 53 cities of the Russian Federation included 658 patients who had not achieved target BP on therapy with two drugs, one of which was sartan (sartan with diuretic, calcium antagonist, β-blocker, or moxonidine in 49%, 33%, 17%, and 1% of cases, respectively). This therapy was replaced with a fixed combination of perindopril arginine/amlodipine. Duration of observation was 3 months.

RESULTS

On therapy with perindopril arginine/amlodipine, BP decreased 159.9±8.5/92.1±7.4 to 125.8±7.1/77.4±5.5 mm Hg. Target BP <140/90 mm Hg was achieved in 93.5% of patients (office measurement); target BP <135/85 mm Hg - in 83.5% of patients (home measurement). Mean 24-hour BP variability decreased from 4.4±2.9/3.0±2.0 to 3.0±2.2/2.2±1.7 mm Hg (p<0.01). Number of patients complaining of headache decreased by 2.9 times, dizziness - by 2.8 times, fatigue - by 2.3 times, irritability - by 3.0 times, sleep disturbances - by 2.3 times, dyspnea - by 3.8 times, palpitations - by 2.7 times, angina pectoris attacks - by 4.6 times. Dose of perindopril arginine/amlodipine was 10/5 mg in 36.6%, and 10/10 mg in 28.3% of cases, respectively. Number ofparticipants who dropped out ofthe study prematurely was 11 (1.6%) (1 because of adverse event). Adverse events were observed in 4 more patients (2 [0.14%] - edema of lower extremities, and 2 [0.14%] -cough), but they did not require the withdrawal of therapy.

CONCLUSION

In case of ineffective combination therapy containing sartans, transfer of patients to a fixed combination of perindopril and amlodipine should be considered.