Effect of Peer Education On the Medication Adherence and The Quality of Life of Hypertensive Patients Download PDF

Background: Patients’ adherence to the treatment regimen predicts the success of treatment, and reduces the negative side effects of the disease and its severity. Considering the positive role of education in improving the quality of life, introducing appropriate educational method for patients’ medication adherence and improving their quality of life are important. The study aimed at investigating the effect of peer education on the medication adherence and the quality of life of hypertensive patients.

Methods: In this quasi-experimental study in 2016, 110 hypertensive patients were randomly divided into two groups of the intervention and control. Three peer to peer training sessions were held for the intervention group. Data collection tools included demographic and social information forms, patients’ adherence to the treatment regimen and health-related quality of life questionnaires, which were completed by both of the groups before and two months after the intervention. The collected ata were analyzed by SPSS version 16 using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Findings: The mean scores of adherence to the treatment regimen, before the intervention, were 4.89±1.92 and 4.04±1.77, in the control and peer groups respectively. 63.6 and 83.6 percent of the patients in the control and the intervention groups had poor adherence to medication regimen, respectively, and there was a significant difference between the two study groups (p= 0.018). Statistical analysis showed that two intervention and control groups, before the intervention, had statistically significant differences in terms of health problems (p= 0.004), pleasure and happiness (p= 0.023), social functioning (p= 0.024), somatic pain (p= 0.003), general health (p< 0.001), the two main dimensions of physical health (p= 0.001), mental health (p= 0.021), and in general quality of life (p= 0.002).

Conclusion: Peer education can improve and enhance the quality of life of hypertensive patients. Accordingly, it is suggested that by educating the patients, and efforts to increase their adherence to treatment, a step can be taken towards enhancing the life quality of these patients