Cognitive-behavioral Intervention for Older Hypertensive Patients

Background: aging-associated diseases contribute to morbidity and mortality in the population; therefore, it is necessary to develop intervention strategies to
prevent and/or minimize their consequences.
Objectives: to evaluate the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral intervention aimed at older hypertensive patients treated in primary care in Cardenas and Santiago de Cuba municipalities during 2011-2013.
Methods: an intervention study of older adults with hypertension was conducted in two municipalities: Santiago de Cuba and Cárdenas. The intervention group was composed of 399 older patients living in the catchment areas of the Carlos Juan Finlay and Héroes del Moncada polyclinics while the control group included
377 older adults served by the Julian Grimau and Jose Antonio Echeverría polyclinics. The intervention consisted of a systematic strategy to increase
knowledge of the disease in order to change lifestyles.
Results: in the intervention group, there were more patients with sufficient knowledge of the disease (OR:1.82), greater control of hypertension (OR: 1.51) and better adherence to treatment (OR: 1.70). By modeling the explanatory variables with hypertension control, being in the intervention group (OR: 0.695) and adhering to treatment (OR: 0.543) were found to be health protective factors.
Conclusion: the cognitive-behavioral intervention for older adults treated in primary care of the municipalities studied was effective in improving blood pressure control since it contributed to a greater adherence to treatment.
Key words: hypertension, ageing, cognitive intervention, primary health care, medication adherence.

Publication year:2016

Accessibility:Open