Adherence to Taking Anti-hypertensive Medication and Its Correlation to Blood Pressure

Abstract

Hypertension is a lifelong disease that cannot be cured permanently, so many patients are
bored and disobedient with medication, which causes uncontrolled blood pressure. Purpose: This
study aimed to determine the relationship between medication adherence and blood pressure in
hypertensive clients at the Geger Community Health Center. This research is a quantitative analytic
study with a cross-sectional method approach. The research sample consisted of 38 hypertension
sufferers at the Geger Community Health Center in Bangkalan, East Java, who were taken using a
simple random sampling technique. Research variables include medication adherence and blood
pressure. Data collection used the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8 adherence questionnaire
and blood pressure measurements using a sphygmomanometer in July 2023. Data analysis used the
Spearman rho test (α 0.05). Results: The results showed that the majority of hypertension sufferers
showed adherence to taking medication in the low category (52.6%), had systolic and diastolic blood
pressure values at grade 2 (160-169/100-109 mm-Hg) of 44.7% and 42 .1%. Compliance with taking
medication for hypertension sufferers is strongly correlated with systole and moderately correlated
with diastolic (correlation coefficient 0.575 and 0.390). Conclusion: Compliance with
antihypertensive medication has a good impact on blood pressure. It is hoped that family support and
health workers will maintain motivation to comply with continuing hypertension care at home.
Compliance with taking medication synergized with control adherence to health facilities, regular
physical exercise, following a hypertension diet, and avoiding cigarette smoke, alcohol, and
carcinogenic substances is expected to prevent sufferers from hypertensive crises and complications.